


Separation is a Virtue

by jaysavage



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Bottom Lance (Voltron), Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Shiro is missing, Smut, Top Keith (Voltron), Top Lance (Voltron), but they gon find him boy, i headcanoned them all at 17 at the start of the show except pidge shes like 15, idk how old they actually are i couldnt find anything, lance and keith will fuck a lot, shallura will hopefully happen very awkwardly lol, so theyre all 18 now? cept shiro he an old man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-01 11:33:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10189028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaysavage/pseuds/jaysavage
Summary: It all started when Shiro went missing. Well- It didn’t start then. That event just sort of… kicked it into high gear.And god, this was the only positive that came from Shiro going missing.Keith and Lance, Lance and Keith. Keith in Lance, Lance on Keith on the bed, Keith on Lance’s lap in the Blue Lion- Honestly, it was just sort of spiraling into a ‘who can fuck who and where’ kind of competition. But that’s not all it was by any means, and that’s not what it started as. That started about a year after they both realized how in fucking love they both were.It started as Keith falling apart, and Lance being there to pick up all the pieces.





	1. Polaroids and First Times.

Lance would watch as Keith tore himself apart, on the inside and the outside, and there came a point where he couldn’t watch it anymore. He tried for months to get Keith to open up, to  _ talk to him _ \- but he would only ever stay quiet, or yell, then fight, then run off to be alone. 

Keith was always silent now. He only spoke during their meetings, contributing idea after idea on how to find Shiro- they were mostly flawed, or failed when Keith went off on his own. He had tried to talk to the Black Lion, but it was silent toward him- and that seemed to tear him up even more. 

Shiro wanted him to be able to do this. Sure, he could pilot it, he could form voltron with it, but he couldn’t fucking speak to it. It wouldn’t give them any clues about Shiro, and Keith just found himself getting angrier and angrier by the day. He always went right to the training room after being in the Black Lion.

 

About three months after Shiro had gone missing, Lance was stood against the back wall of the training room, silent as he had snuck his way in after a battle. It was supposed to be Keith’s 18th birthday- but it didn’t look like the newly named black paladin gave a shit about it. All he seemed to give a shit about was fucking up the training dummies, one after the other. Lance bounced on his toes as he watched Keith move, his eyes wet as he bashed his fist into the face of a dummy. Lance finally felt the courage to step forward, rubbing his chin with his hand. 

“Hey, I think you killed it.” Lance spoke with a slight smile on his face. Keith’s fist froze and he glanced back before he stood, wiping the bit of blood from his knuckles on his jeans. 

“What do you want?” Keith’s voice was quiet, rumbling in his throat as he turned to grab his water bottle. Lance swallowed hard as he moved closer, only a few feet from Keith now. He fidgeted with the gift behind his back, just an envelope. 

“It’s your birthday, doofus. How’s it feel, being a real adult?” Lance asked, smirking a little. His own birthday was only a few months away. Keith’s expression didn’t change, his dark gaze falling toward the spout of the bottle before he took a long sip. 

“Shit like that doesn’t matter anymore, Lance.” Keith grumbled, placing the bottle down before he grabbed for his towel to wipe his sweat-soaked face. “We’re in space, fighting fucking aliens- I’m one of them- you should know better.” Keith spat, and Lance sighed, smile faltering. He was angry, and Lance knew that. He knew better than to even  _ talk _ to Keith, or it would end up in a big blowout as it had many times before. But this time was different. 

“It does matter. You’re still human, you’re still from Earth. And on Earth, we have birthdays. Heck, Shay just had a birthday and invited all of us! Even if Hunk was the only one who made the time to go…” Lance trailed off, pulling the envelope from behind his back to hold it out to Keith. The man just looked at it, brows furrowing. 

“Did you write me a letter or something?” Keith asked, quiet as he took the paper envelope. It was labeled ‘Keith’s 18th’ in some bad handwriting. He recognized it right away, and Lance could barely catch him fast enough. As Keith crashed to the floor, Lance grabbed under his shoulders to move him to the bench, keeping an arm around him as Keith ripped the envelope open. “What the  _ fuck _ is this, Lance?” Keith asked, tears already flowing down his cheeks. 

“It- I found it in Shiro’s stuff, when we were looking for clues to find him? I- I figured I should keep it until today because Shiro wrote it for today. I’m sorry I kept it from you but-” Lance was cut off by Keith’s sweaty hand clamping over his mouth. Lance couldn’t bring himself to make a comment about how nasty his hand was. The hand soon fell away anyway, fumbling with the paper. 

As Keith opened the envelope, he tugged out a polaroid of himself and Shiro. It was obviously old, from when Keith was still in the Garrison. They were wearing their uniforms, smiles both bright as they stood together in Keith’s old dorm room. He felt his chest tightening, his throat closing up as he stared at it. Shrio’s still-human right arm was slung around Keith’s neck, and Keith was giving him bunny-ears in the photo. He remembered Shiro making him take the photo, and he had asked what it was for. Shiro had just said- 

“Memories.” Keith read the photo’s label aloud, voice cracking. Lance swallowed hard, gaze moving from the photo to Keith’s face now, and he tightened his fingers on Keith’s waist, wanting desperately to pull the pain from him. He could see it in his face, in the way his jaw moved as his teeth ground together. In the way he blinked tears away, brows knit tight together. 

There was more. Keith held the photo between his fingers as he grabbed for the old, folded piece of notebook paper that was poking from the torn end of the envelope. He took it out slowly, taking a breath as he started to read silently. 

 

_ Keith.  _

_ I’ll never get used to writing with this alien arm, man. It’s jittery so, sorry if you can’t read some of it. I just wanted to tell you, as if I don’t tell you enough, that I’m proud of you. Just because you got kicked out of the Garrison (yes, Lance told me everything) doesn’t mean you’re not one of the best goddamn pilots I’ve ever seen. I’d say you’re even better than me, but I haven’t gotten to race you yet. Once we beat these galra punks, I’ll be looking forward to a race. A real one. _

_ I’m also proud of you for being yourself, all the time. It’s probably an understatement to say you’ve drawn a shitty hand in life, but you pull through everything. You always work harder than anyone I’ve ever seen, and you’re always selfless. Just like when you decided it’d be a good idea to run off with Allura to protect all of us.  _

_ I’m proud of you, always have been, always will be. So keep working, keep trying, keep going. Don’t kill yourself, though. Remember to take a break, remember to sit back and think about what you want. Don’t be like me, don’t keep your emotions bottled up. That’ll kill you, you know. _

_ So some notes for future Keith- Even though I’m only writing this like… what, a year and a half from your 18th? Anyway, about bottling up feelings. If you haven’t told Lance how you feel by now, you better fucking do it, Keith. You don’t even have to tell everyone else! Just tell him! You can’t keep staring at him like that at every single meal and meeting without him finding out eventually.  _

_ Long story short, I believe in you, and I’m proud of you. Do your best, and do what makes you happy. I’ll always be there for you, I promise.  _

_ -Your brother, your best friend, Shiro.  _

_ Ps. By the way, If I haven’t asked Allura out by now, please kick me in the ass and tell me to go do it already. I’d do it for you ;) _

 

Lance’s eyes fell upon the letter and he felt guilty reading over Keith’s shoulder, but he felt his heart swell when he read over the last paragraph. He glanced at Keith again, and felt a smile creep over his lips- Keith was  _ smiling _ .  _ Actually smiling _ . It was the happiest Lance had ever seen him, even before Shiro had gone missing. 

“Thank you, Lance.” Keith breathed, his smile turning to look over Lance’s face now.

Lance hadn’t realized he was crying too, his tears dripping from the tips of his lashes before keith reached up to push them away for him. The gesture was a gentle surprise, capable of making Lance’s heart skip  _ way _ too many beats. “Why’re you crying?” Keith asked, a laugh in his voice as he smiled up to Lance.

“Uh- Just happy for you. I didn’t realize- Sorry.” Lance smiled and wiped his face on the back of his sleeve. He smirked a little, glancing down to Keith, who was about to turn back to looking at the photo. “He’s right though. About bottling up your feelings?” Lance started, and Keith glared at him, gripping the letter to his chest. 

“You read it?!” Keith panicked, and Lance chuckled nervously, hand rubbing the back of his head. “Y-You read that part, then…” Keith groaned, folding the letter back up. Lance nodded, reminding Keith of the arm around his waist by tightening his hand- the other man jumped, a flush falling across his cheeks. 

“I-It’s- It’s mutual.” Lance choked out, nervous as all hell.  _ It’s mutual? _ Was that the best he could come up with?! God, he could flirt with girls like it was nothing, but when it came to Keith, he was choking up. Why? God, he was so,  _ so _ fucking bad at this, apparently. So much for  _ king of romance _ \- He was pulled from his nervous thoughts when Keith grabbed his chin, pulling him down for a messy, lopsided first kiss.

 

_ Oh, this is happening. _

_ Finally. _

 

He felt his face heat up, his throat tighten, his fingers digging so hard into Keith’s side he could leave bruises. Keith’s hands were like flames on his face, the fire spreading as they moved up to his hair, against the back of his head, tugging his hair gently to coax a groan from his throat. He found his other hand moving to grab Keith’s shirt, gripping into the sweaty material, pulling him tighter. And all too soon, it was over, Keith jerking away with worry on his heat-flushed face. 

“This is a bad idea, though.” Keith gasped, breathless from the kiss. It wasn’t like they’d kissed for that long- it was just… something they’d both unknowingly waited for, for a long time. The tension between them used to be thick, so thick Keith could have cut it with his Bayard. But it turns out, all they needed to break it, was a kiss. A much needed release of tension for both of them, Lance thought. 

“Dude, what did Shiro  _ just say _ ?” Lance chuckled, and Keith glanced back at the envelope, at the photo sitting on the bench beside him. “Do what makes you happy.” Lance sighed, leaning back a bit to look over Keith, watching his body language. He was nervous, picking at his fingers, staring down at his scabbed, scarred hands. “Besides. You can’t be working hard  _ all _ the time. You need to relax sometimes. And I’m the  _ king _ of relaxation, I could show you a few things.” Lance teased, smirk on his lips again. Keith just smiled and bumped his arm, finding himself laughing back at him. 

“The others, though. What do we say?” Keith asked, and Lance shook his head, taking Keith’s hands so he couldn’t pick at the newly healed scabs anymore.

“We don’t have to tell them a thing.” Lance murmured, and Keith sighed, nodding before he leaned quickly into Lance, forehead dropping to his shoulder. He felt weeks of pain and tension rush out of his body, and his heart felt full again. He didn’t feel like a dead man walking, not anymore. 

And as Lance’s hands found a hold on the small of his back, he didn’t feel so alone. 

He felt home. 

\---

And now, a few months later, It was Lance’s 18th birthday. How the hell was Keith supposed to top what Lance did for him? Well, he knew he couldn’t but- He sure as hell had a few ideas. After Hunk’s cake, Pidge’s video game showdown, and Allura and Coran’s formal birthday dinner, Keith had Lance all to himself. All to himself, in the Black Lion, Lance on his lap, in the middle of the most heated kiss they’d had all week. 

“Did you know-” Keith breathed between kisses, pulling back only to see Lance’s bright red face, lips puffy, eyes exhausted yet excited. “-They sell condoms at that weird Earth shop, in the space mall?” Keith finished, his smirk sending shivers down Lance’s spine. They’d been unable to find  _ normal _ condoms anywhere in the fucking galaxy. Not that either of them had anything to worry about, but it was something both of them agreed they should have. It was really just a sly excuse, both of them nervous for the awkwardness of the  _ ‘first time’ _ .

“Jesus- why didn’t  _ I _ think of that? Also, why is it so hard to find a space CVS or something like that around here?” Lance asked, chuckling a little as he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Keith’s. They laughed together, both a little nervous. 

“I got like,  _ four _ boxes.” Keith laughed, and Lance smiled wide, leaning back a bit to tug his own belt off. “I don’t wanna run out anytime soon.” Keith smirked and kicked his chair back, watching Lance’s blush come back full force. The blue paladin licked his lips, leaning back to undo Keith’s belt for him. 

“That’ll last us what, a week or two?” Lance asked, a cocky smirk on his lips. Keith was the one who was blushing now, chewing his bottom lip as Lance’s fingers traced the elastic of his boxers. “I’m kidding. Relax.” Lance sighed, glancing up at his boyfriend as he nodded, obviously just as nervous. 

“How do you wanna do this? It’s  _ your _ day.” Keith breathed, reaching up to tug Lance closer by the back of his neck. They were already pretty close to each other in the tight cockpit of his lion, but they could always get closer- melting into each other was their specialty. 

“It’s  _ my _ day but- It’s  _ our _ first time so, I want it to be good. For  _ both _ of us.” Lance murmured, reaching down to play with the fabric of Keith’s shirt. Keith nodded, feeling his heart swell with the sweetness of Lance’s words. He always knew the way to Keith’s heart, be it through a stupid romantic date or a tiny remark that meant the world to him. 

“Okay… so, tell me what you want.” Keith breathed, tilting his face to kiss Lance’s cheek, trailing kisses across his lip toward his jaw. His hands found their way into Lance’s back pockets, and the way Lance arched his back told Keith that maybe he liked his place on top.

“Well, I’ve never uh… bottomed.” Lance murmured, knowing Keith had, at least once before. He had admitted it during a rather heated makeout session with Lance’s hand down the back of his pants. “I want you to ride me.” Lance’s voice was a deep growl now, turning his lips to kiss at the corner of Keith’s mouth, awaiting his response. 

“ _ Okay _ .” Keith breathed, his voice almost a moan as he felt something in the pit of his stomach tighten, in a good way.  _ That _ was an idea he could get behind. Or on top of.  _ Whatever _ . The way Lance spoke made his hands shiver, finding their spot on his shoulders. “H-Here? In the lion?” Keith asked, glancing beside his seat to tug a box from a plastic bag. Lance shrugged and backed off, standing up so Keith could get up too. 

“Wherever. This is probably the most private place, anyway.” Lance plopped down in the seat when Keith got up for him, then hurriedly tugged his boyfriend back on top of him, giving him a big smile. He was giddy, over the moon that Keith trusted him enough to let them do something like this. Before this, it was lots of needy hand jobs and fingering- the fingering mostly for Keith. If he made  _ those _ kinds of noises from just Lance’s fingers, he wondered what kind of noises he’d make filled with his  _ cock _ . Just the idea made his hips twitch. “Doesn’t matter where we are as long as I’m with you.” Lance spoke, pulling out all his overly romantic lines for this occasion. 

“Oh god, don’t be  _ gay _ .” Keith groaned, only gaining another blinding, shit-eating smile from his boyfriend. 

“Oh don’t worry, I’m not.  _ I’m bi _ .” Lance teased, and Keith punched his arm, chuckling as he leaned down to kiss him. With that, they fell quiet- Well, as quiet as two guys making out could be. Keith wasn’t the most quiet, not when Lance was grinding up into his ass and groaning into his lips. It was getting to be too much after a while, both of them feeling too tight in their pants and too hot in their shirts. 

 

“Fuck, alright already…” Keith whined, leaning down to snatch up a condom from the box and a bottle of lube, another thing he had found at the space mall. Lance swallowed hard as he let Keith tug him free from his boxers. His gloved hands hesitated for a moment before a smirk grew over his lips, and he shot a very  _ flushed _ Lance a look before he slipped down, head between his thighs. 

“ _ Wh-Whaaat _ are you doing?” Lance sputtered, sitting up a little to look down at him. Keith was tugging Lance’s boxers and jeans all the way down, leaving them around his ankles. “Y-You don’t have to-  _ fuuuuck… _ ” Lance groaned as Keith slipped his lips down over his cock, tongue laving over the head. The blue paladin found his hand gripping into Keith’s long hair, breath caught in his throat as his boyfriend moved down lower, nose almost brushing Lance’s abdomen. As Keith pulled off, he smiled up to him, nuzzling the space between Lance’s erection and his tanned thigh. 

“How’s it feel, being a _real_ _adult_?” Keith asked, cocky tone in his voice. It was a bit of a throwback to what Lance asked him on his own birthday, but it seemed to go right over the other man’s head. He was in too much of a daze, mouth open a bit as he gazed down at his lover. 

“ _ You’re real pretty _ …” Lance mumbled, and Keith smiled, rolling his eyes. He pushed his own jeans and boots off, shifting to press his lips to the head of his cock again.

“Oh, you only say that because you wanna fuck.” Keith teased, not expecting the way Lance grabbed the back of his shirt to pull him up, strong arms wrapping around his torso. 

“Absolutely not.” Lance told him, eyeing Keith hard. 

“I-I wasn’t being serious-” Keith tried to tell him, pushing on his chest a little, but Lance cut him off, tugging him even closer. 

“I _always_ think you’re beautiful.” Lance breathed, kissing the soft skin under Keith’s throat, feeling the rumble of a moan as Keith felt a certain hot stiffness pressing against his ass. “You’re incredible, handsome… _tienes un magnífico cuerpo_ …” Lance groaned, sliding his hands up the shivering sides of his lover, knowing exactly what he was doing. Keith _lived_ for this softness, for the way Lance handled him, adored him. 

“I don’t even know what that  _ means… _ ” Keith smiled as he rolled his hips back, letting Lance push his shirt away. He did the same for the other man, tugging the suffocating cloth off of his torso, only to replace it with skimming hands. His thumbs pressed into the hollow of Lance’s hip bones, towards the softness of his tummy. 

“Gimme that lube.” Lance mumbled, taking it from him to squirt some on his fingers. Keith felt the nerves setting in, gripping the foil square in his fist now. His body tensed as Lance pressed a finger over Keith’s entrance, but he kissed him through it, his lips finding Keith’s quickly. “Relax.” Lance breathed against him, pressing the first finger in. 

Keith tried to chill the  _ fuck _ out, hands shaking on Lance’s hips. He eventually moved to hold his shoulders, still holding onto the condom with his middle and forefinger. Lance shifted one hand onto Keith’s ass, tugging him apart a bit to gain a rather embarrassing moan from him, his breath quickening as he felt another finger. The kisses were distracting, and it was nice, finally able to roll his hips back onto Lance’s hand. 

“More,  _ please _ ...” Keith gasped into Lance’s mouth after the third finger was worked in, and Lance smiled, pulling their lips back to nuzzle his cheek. 

“Don’t say please. I’ve got you.” Lance told him, and Keith groaned as the fingers left him. He felt hollow, and he knew what he wanted. He tore open the condom package and lifted his hips, hands shaking as he rolled the condom down onto Lance’s member. He was so hard, Keith couldn’t help but give him a few slow strokes. “Fuck- Okay, come on.” Lance breathed, grabbing for Keith’s hips. 

Keith felt the slight tremble of his boyfriend’s fingers, so he reached with one hand down to grab Lance’s cock and angle them together, the other finding his hand, lacing their fingers together. With his thighs bracketing Lance’s hips, bruised knees pressed into the padding of the seat, he sunk down slowly, letting out tight gasps as he moved. Lance was chewing his bottom lip, watching Keith take all of him. He felt tingles rush through his body, his hair standing on end as Keith seated himself. 

“Sh-shit-” Keith gasped, waiting a moment before he circled his hips, his chest tight with how full he felt. “You’re so  _ big _ , Lance.” Keith gasped, pain tingling down to his toes for a moment, until he really started to relax- until Lance distracted him with hot, needy kisses. Lance’s hand was over his cock in seconds, stroking him gently, his hand still a little slick from the lube. 

Lance could have stayed like that all damn day, his lover open for him, close to him, needy for  _ him _ . He rarely ever saw Keith this vulnerable, and he wanted to make sure Keith knew he appreciated it. The openness, the fireworks sparking wherever Keith touched him. The heat that shot through him as soon as Keith rose his hips up, then pushed back down. 

“ _ Carajo _ -” Lance moaned, leaning himself back to brace his feet up on the control panel, careful to avoid any of the buttons. Keith was trembling, dull pain rolling through him, laced with pleasure. It felt so perfect, so lovely, it was everything he thought it’d be and  _ more _ . And once Lance found the pace, he moved his hips as well, bucking up to meet Keith in the middle. 

A broken moan tore through Keith’s body and he flopped forward, grabbing for anything to hold him steady. Lance leaned forward slightly so Keith could grip him, thrusting his hips up as he laid back against the seat again, fingers now digging into Keith’s hips. Keith was starting to enjoy himself a little too much, his forehead pressed against Lances neck as he moved his hips, fingers tight on Lance’s shoulders, then his biceps. 

“T-Touch me-” Keith gasped out, feeling his cock bounce against Lance’s abdomen, the slight friction feeling really,  _ really _ good. He was seeing stars behind his eyelids, moans slipping from him with every hit, only getting louder with the hand that slipped back onto his cock. 

“Good?” Lance grunted, peeking down at his lover, his free hand making it’s way to grab Keith’s ass. That elicited a lovely response, Keith shifting to brace his arms on Lance’s shoulders, sitting up as much as he could. He wanted Lance to  _ see _ him, hot lust clouding his mind as he gazed down at his lover. 

“F-Fuckin’ _ perfect _ .” Keith moaned, and Lance moaned back, head falling a bit before he looked back up to admire his boyfriend, his lover, his best friend. Keith’s hair was a mess around his face, falling down around his shoulders, some stuck to his forehead with the sweat that was slicked there. Lance’s hand moved a bit faster, his hips moving slightly rougher, and Keith flopped down again, arms wrapping around Lance’s shoulders and he moved to kiss him, deep and messy. 

They were both a fucking mess, hips moving a bit out of sync at some points, hands finding awkward places to hold, neither one of them able to really stay quiet. Lance was surprised he was able to last this long, with the way Keith felt around him- it was like heaven. But he knew he couldn’t last much longer, either.

“L-Lance-” Keith moaned, his hips burning with how much he was moving them, but the sweet tingles that ran through his body were worth it. “Close, really close-” He stammered, and Lance smirked, using his free hand to pull Keith’s jaw up, kissing him deeply as his hips pistoned perfectly into his lover. 

“Come for me-  _ please _ .” Lance breathed, and Keith’s body jerked, hot cum spilling into Lance’s hand. He slurred Lance’s name, his kiss bitten lips still inches from Lance’s. His body jittered, tightening unbelievably around Lance’s cock, and with a few more deep thrusts, Lance was cumming too, gasping and groaning against Keith’s lips. “ _ Fuck- Dios mío- _ ” Lance gasped, head rolling back into the seat as his hand tightened, the other still jerking Keith, albeit a little awkwardly. He wanted every last drop from him, and  _ fuck _ did he get it. 

“ _ Lance… _ ” Keith sighed, hips slowing to a stop before he lifted off of his cock all the way, then dropped right back down onto his lap. Lance just licked his lips as he reached to tug the condom off, tieing it up and dropping it into the plastic bag that once held the box of condoms. His hands went right back to Keith, thumbs pressing into the soft meat of Keith’s upper thighs. 

“Best birthday ever.” Lance chuckled, tired grin coming over his face. Keith would have punched him in the arm if he wasn’t so fucking exhausted. Instead he smiled, turning his face up for a kiss. Lance obliged, sighing deeply into him. 

They both felt like they were on fire, their bodies stuck together, and neither ever wanted to let go. Keith never wanted this feeling to leave them, and Lance was sure as shit never going to let it get away.

“I love you.” Lance murmured between kisses and Keith’s eyes fluttered open, glancing up to his boyfriend of just a few months. 

“How do you know that?” Keith asked, nerves rushing back into his stomach. 

“I’ve been to lots of planets and like, ten different galaxies. I’ve kissed lots of space ladies, and a few dudes.” Lance sighed, leaning his head back and gripping Keith’s hand, pushing it against his chest. Keith felt his heart thudding, faster than a hummingbird’s wings, harder than a hammer. “You’re the only one who's ever made me feel like this.” Lance’s words made Keith swallow hard, his cheeks getting hot all over again. 

He had to agree. He’d been everywhere, and the only person he’d ever felt this way for was Lance. Stupid, cocky, fuckboy  _ Lance _ . Sweet, dumb, romantic  _ Lance _ . The only guy who could make him smile when he was on the verge of a breakdown. The one who had pulled him out of his dark, looming depression with just a touch, the one to quell his anxieties with a kiss to his temple and a quiet ‘ _ I’m here for you. _ ’.

“I love you too.” Keith whispered, twisting his face to bury it into Lance’s neck, letting out a shaky breath as Lance pulled his jacket over Keith’s naked top half. He could stay like this forever. He could do without ever going back to the rest of the team, all the problems they had to face. 

 

As if Lance could tell Keith was thinking a little too hard, he started to sing. 

 

Lance’s voice was so lovely to him, cracking and rough in all the right places. It never failed to pull him from his thoughts and make him pay attention, to make his chest swell. He was singing ever so quietly, only to Keith.

 

_ You don't have to say I love you to say I love you. _

_ Forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons... _

_ We've been making shades of purple out of red and blue, _

_ Sickeningly sweet like honey, don't need money, _

_ All I need is you... _

_ All I need is you, you... _


	2. Until it's gone.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long distance relationships are most definitely not Keith's forte.

“Oh, come on- It’s  _ two days _ .” Lance sighed, tucking a strand of Keith’s hair behind his ear. They had finally broken away from a meeting, a meeting that had given them all assignments. Since Lance and Hunk had already been there, they were to go back to the oceanic planet they had crash landed on over a year ago- they still needed allies. “If you want to talk to me, get in your lion- I’ll pick up.” Lance told a very grumpy Keith, watching as his bottom lip jutted out. Lance just chuckled and kissed it, thumb rolling over it afterwards. 

“I don’t get why I have to stay here and decode with Pidge. Hunk could do it just as well as me.” Keith grumbled, leaning back up against his bedroom wall. Lance shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, glancing back at the doorway- he was supposed to be leaving in a few minutes. 

“Hunk has already  _ been _ there, that’s why. But I’ll bring you back something cool. Like, do you like sea shells? Or jelly-fish? I can bring you a pet squid, if you want.” Lance offered with a smirk, but Keith huffed, looking away from him with a frown. “Oh, come on.” Lance sighed, gripping his jaw to turn his face back up. “You’ll live. Let’s just hope  _ I _ do.” Lance chuckled, and Keith’s face changed, worried now. 

“Hey- That’s not funny!” Keith cried, tugging his boyfriend in for a hug. Lance smiled and kissed his neck, nuzzling there for a moment with tight arms before Allura’s voice droned over the intercom, summoning him and Hunk to their hangars.

“I’ll be back before you know it.  _ You _ have to stay and help Pidge with decoding that message. It could have something to do with him.” Lance said, then backed off to shirk his hoodie off, the same old one he had gotten from the Garrison- He wore it every day. He tugged it around Keith’s shoulders, then kissed his flushed cheeks. “Now, I have to go.” Lance waved as he stepped from the room, leaving Keith to mope by himself. He tugged the hoodie around his shoulders tighter. Too bad he couldn’t wear it around- Pidge would know right away. 

Now, just two days, one night. Keith could last that long, right? 

\---

Wrong.  

Keith was pissy, and Pidge barely even wanted to talk to him as she tried to work on decoding the message they had received. He picked at his jeans, glaring at the door every time Allura or Coran walked through. 

“Uh, Keith? Can’t help but notice that you’re  _ really _ upset.” Pidge mumbled, glancing over to Keith as he shrugged, and she sighed, fingers clicking away at the keyboard. “Fine, bottle it up, then. You’re just like him.” Pidge sighed under her breath, and immediately regretted it. Her eyes flicked up to Keith, but he was already on his feet, fists tight. “Keith, I-” Pidge didn’t even get to finish her apology before Keith was storming off towards his room. 

He  _ was _ just like him. He’d  _ aimed _ to be. He fucking looked up to him like he was, well, a big brother. He considered him one. His fucking best friend was missing, and no one was trying as hard as he wanted them to. No one was doing anything. Allura had them off doing stupid missions to get allies- They didn’t  _ need _ allies! They needed  _ Shiro _ . They needed their leader- their  _ real _ leader.  _ Not _ Keith. Not the sub-par, over-emotional, hot-headed Keith.

Before he knew it, he was wearing Lance’s sweater, hood up as he stormed down the hallway and toward the blue paladins room. He hadn’t realized how attached he had become to him until now, until he was without him. As that old saying goes, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone- something like that. Keith growled as he punched the button to open the door, locking it when he was inside. He looked around- It felt empty. 

No laughing idiot to make him smile. No one to hold him, to wrap him up and surround him. To keep him safe from his own anxieties. He found himself moving toward the bed, gripping the sleeves of the sweater, climbing under the blankets. It was already late enough- he could probably go to sleep now, right? He tucked a big pillow behind him, another between his legs, before he shut his eyes. 

There, breathing in the scent of his boyfriend, he slept. A little teary, but he did. He missed him so much- he missed Shiro too. But the ache he felt for Shiro was a dull, familiar one, one he had learned to deal with. Missing  _ Lance _ was a whole other wound, a whole new beast. 

\---

“Fuck- _ Fuck, Lance _ …” Keith breathed, hips rolling against Lance’s thigh, his hands tight in the fabric of his sweater. He pressed it to his face, breathing him in deep. Lance’s hands were light against his sides, almost like a ghost. He turned his face up, waiting and waiting for Lance to kiss him- but he just smiled to him.  _ That’s good enough. _ Keith thought, his body arching as he got closer and closer, but never quite getting there. “Lance please, just touch-” He was cut off, Lance disappearing from his vision, eyes shooting open to stare into the darkness of Lance’s bedroom. 

 

_ A dream. It was a dream.  _

 

He growled and kicked the pillows away, hand moving back down to feel over his… erection. He frowned and rolled to his back, staring up at the glow-stars Lance had stuck to his ceiling. Why did he have to go? Didn’t they already have the Queen’s word that she would help if they needed it? Keith wondered if Pidge had managed to crack the code they were working on earlier- well,  _ she _ was working on. Keith was being... kind of a big brat. 

He’d have to apologize later. Right now he had more… pressing issues. 

He pushed a hand between his legs and sighed, staring up at the ceiling, his other hand holding the sleeve over his face. A few strokes in and he was gasping, scooting himself up on the pillows. He wished Lance was here. He wished he could just-

“Talk to him-” Keith gasped, eyes popping open. With great difficulty, he pulled his hand from his jeans and pushed them off, moving to tug on some looser sweatpants, a pair of Lance’s. He was sure he wouldn’t mind. What time was it, anyway? Would he even be awake?

 

_ If you want to talk to me, get in your lion- I’ll pick up. _

 

\---

Keith had made it to his lion- after avoiding everyone in the castle with Lance’s hoodie on, somehow. It felt like a miracle as he hopped up into the Black Lion, slipping down into the cockpit. He was still so fucking  _ hard _ , from whatever dream he had been having. It was a blur now- all he knew was that he was upset and horny.  _ What else is new, though? _ He pressed a button, typed in a few numbers, then leaned back, pushing the hoodie down over the front of his pants. 

When Lance picked up, Keith blushed, hard. He looked like he was either asleep, or  _ also _ in the middle of something… rather unspeakable. His hair was messed up, his shirt was hanging over the back of his seat, and his hand was suspiciously pressed over the front of his pants. He still smiled at Keith, leaning forward to look at him. 

“Can’t sleep?” Lance asked, gazing at the sight of his boyfriend, in  _ his _ clothes, looking rather adorable. He even spotted a bit of drool on his chin, but didn’t have the heart to tell him. He looked him over once more before he spoke again, noticing how disheveled he looked. “Or, bad dream?”

“Not  _ bad _ just- I dunno.” Keith mumbled, feeling much more awkward now than he had just seconds before. How was he supposed to tell Lance that he had a boner? And what was he even going to  _ do _ in front of the camera?! He hadn’t thought this through well enough. Lance smirked, eyeing the blush that was slowly growing over his boyfriend’s face. Even in the dull lighting, he could tell how flustered Keith was getting. 

“Wanna tell me about it, babe?” Lance asked, shifting to sit back against his seat, rather than the odd, sideways position he had been lying in. He kicked one leg up onto his seat, the other dangling lazily. He was sure to make it obvious, the bulge in the front of his sleep pants. Since he wasn’t wearing a shirt, Keith blushed at the way the light played over the other man’s body as he moved.

“It’s just…” Keith mumbled, shifting a bit, leaning back to almost match Lance’s position. He looked nowhere near as cool and Keith knew it, hiding his jaw in the fabric of the hoodie. Lance smirked, eyeing Keith as he spoke. 

“Was I  _ fucking _ you?” Lance asked bluntly, and the way Keith’s eyes widened told him everything. Keith took a deep breath before he turned his face away, then pushed the front of his sweats down, revealing his lack of underwear, and better yet, the flushed erection he had been hiding. 

“You weren’t  _ fucking _ me, no.” Keith mumbled, watching Lance licking his lips- he could tell he was driving the other man crazy, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, to look cool, keep the cocky aura about him. 

“What were we doing then,  _ baby _ ?” Lance asked, drawing out the last word in a sigh, the hand over his crotch tightening a bit. The dark flush that was over his cheeks returned, and they were both looking a mess now, sleepy, hair mussed, eyes half lidded. Keith turned his eyes to study his boyfriend, looking over the tenseness of his fingers, the soft muscle over his stomach, the way his jaw moved when Keith put a hand over his cock, thumb pressing over the head. “Keith?” Lance asked, still waiting for his answer. 

“I was on your thigh- I think... You were letting me use it.” Keith croaked out, and Lance’s hand disappeared, down into his pants. Lance sighed and chewed his lip, eyes raking down Keith’s form, over his perfect, scarred chest, the tremble of his thighs, the jerk of his hand. He matched Keith’s speed, but snapped to attention when Keith called for him. “ _ Lance- _ I want to see yours, too.” Keith breathed, internally cringing at how dumb that sounded. Lance thought it was sexy as hell though, and didn’t falter, pushing the cloth down to show Keith his erection. 

Keith gasped and shifted down, legs opening a bit more as his hand worked. He stared at Lance’s hand, as his cock, at the way his abdomen tensed and relaxed. He looked up to his face, wishing he hadn’t, as Lance was wearing that fucking smirk he always had. 

“Was that  _ all _ ?” Lance asked, chewing his cheek as he got closer to the edge, not lasting very long at all after seeing Keith like this, spread out in front of him. Keith just gasped and glanced around his lion nervously, then back to Lance. 

“I-I was begging-” Keith gasped, his free hand dipping a few fingers into his mouth before he pushed it down hurriedly into his pants, rubbing over his entrance. Lance moaned at that, his legs falling apart a bit more, his other hand coming up to grip the back of his seat. 

“Well- that’s unrealistic, babe.” Lance grunted out, still trying to keep some semblance of cool as he bucked into his hand. “I’d  _ never _ make you do that.” He sighed, and Keith moaned out, head falling back as he pressed a finger into himself, and Lance wished he could see all of him. 

“ _L-Lance…_ ” Keith breathed, and Lance watched, his knuckles white against the seat, his fist working his cock quickly, both of them rather desperate at this point. “I want you _here-_ _now-_ ” Keith groaned, his body arching, eyes falling as he pressed another finger in, trying to press as deep as he could, hooking them just right. 

“I’ll be there,  _ baby- _ I’ll be there soon…” Lance groaned back, head falling to the side as he watched Keith come, and he allowed himself that pleasure as well, hips arching up as he filled his fist with cum. “Don’t stop.” Lance’s voice was a growl, and Keith eyed him, his moans spilling out muffled from behind the cloth, hot white leaking over his fingers. Lance watched as he trembled, riding out his orgasm fully until both of their hands slowed to a stop, and Lance sighed, pulling his pants back up. 

Keith was a bit more of a mess, trying to wipe his shaking hands on his shirt before he pulled that  _ and _ the sweater off. He cleaned up with the shirt before he pulled the hoodie on again, zipping it up all the way. After a few quiet moments, Keith decided to break the thick silence between them.

“I don’t think video communications are supposed to be used for that.” Keith chuckled nervously, shifting to tuck his hands under his cheek as he leaned into the chair. Lance just chuckled, crossing his legs in his chair. 

“Yeah well, it’s a pretty good use if you ask me.” Lance replied, a chuckle on his voice as he wiped his sticky hand on a spare towel. Keith peeked around Lance’s lion, never actually having been inside it aside from their first insane ride through the galaxy. Lance had made it like his second home- Glow stars stuck to the walls that weren’t a screen, spare clothes and towels laying around, one of Keith’s shirts he would have to remember to take back, and-

“Remind me later to make fun of you for having  _ fuzzy dice _ in your lion.” Keith told him, a smirk over his lips as he curled up in the seat. He pushed it back so it was a little more comfortable, and Lance just smirked and leaned forward, flicking them with his finger.

“Hey, they’re awesome. Better than that cum stain on your floor.” Lance teased, and Keith blushed, tugging his hood up. Keith hadn’t done anything to change the interior of the Black Lion. Shiro hadn’t done anything to it aside from keeping a spare change of clothes with his supplies.

“Whatever.” Keith grumbled, then shifted a little, hesitating before he spoke. “I might just uh, sleep here.” Keith told him, reaching down to tug the emergency blanket from under his seat- they all kept emergency supplies in their lions, just in case they ever needed to stay in them, which usually happened on their longer missions.

“Mn, me too.” Lance nodded, reaching down to grab his as well. Keith stared at the blanket for a long while, then cracked a smile. 

“Is that... the blanket from the Red Lion?” Keith asked, smirk obvious on his lips. Lance didn’t even deny it, pulling the soft red fabric up to his face. 

“Yeah. Smells like you.” Lance told him, reaching to pop his seat back. Keith blushed, nuzzling the black fabric of his blanket. It didn’t smell like Shiro anymore. For some reason, that made him tear up, trying his best to hide it from Lance, blinking the sting away. He noticed though, the shine in Keith’s eyes apparent from the glow of the screen. “We’ll find him.” Lance’s voice came through soft, but crackling- Keith hadn’t noticed it until now, the bad connection. He nodded, tugging the blanket up tight around him. He felt better now, definitely, surrounded by Lance, able to see him, able to talk to him. 

“Goodnight, then.” Keith sighed, yawning afterward. Lance looked fidgety, leaning back into his seat with the blanket fisted up near his nose. 

“Mind if I leave the connection up?” Lance asked, and Keith nodded, hiding the blush on his cheeks with the fuzzy black material. 

“‘Course.” Keith told him, smile spreading on his lips as his eyes shut. He listened for a while, silence between the both of them, before he heard Lance’s soft snoring, and he finally relaxed fully, curling up tight as he fell asleep. 

_ God, they were really in deep, weren’t they? _

\---

When Keith awoke to the sound of sirens and Coran’s panicked voice, he shot up from his sleep to see Lance gone. He was worried, but only for a second, until Coran shouted his name.

“ **KEITH! PLEASE COME OUT! THE PRINCESS IS WORRIED SICK!** ” His voice blared, and Keith grumbled as he shirked Lance’s jacket off, stowing it safely under his seat. He climbed down from his lion, Coran’s voice still loud and clear on the speaker. “ **OH! PRINCESS, HE’S IN THE BLACK LION’S HANGAR! FALSE ALARM** !” He sighed and rubbed his eyes, tromping toward the main room. He couldn’t get  _ any _ damn privacy in this place, could he?

“Keith!” Pidge’s voice echoed down the hallway, and she stopped to look at him, a worried look on her face. “I-I’m sorry! Did I upset you that much yesterday? I didn’t mean it, really!” The girl cried, running towards him, still in her pajamas. Keith just smiled at her and caught her in a hug, and she smiled when he saw his face, not angry, not upset with her at all. 

“No, I wanted to apologize. I’ve been stressed- I shouldn’t have freaked out like that.” Keith sighed, rubbing her back before she pulled away, hands on her hips, proud smile stuck on her face. “You seem proud- did you decode that message?” Keith asked, hopeful that it was something to do with Shiro. Pidge nodded, but her smile fell, rubbing her arm nervously. 

“It was… It was a shopping list. Literally. Allura said it was probably a ‘wrong number’ if that’s even possible.” Pidge sighed, and perked up when she saw the down look on Keith’s face. “But uh, breakfast is ready, and the guys are almost back, so, do you wanna go grab something to eat?” Pidge asked, and Keith nodded, sighing happily that Lance was almost back already. That wasn’t even two days. It must have went well. Keith didn’t even think to ask how things had been going last night- 

Oh god _. Last night.  _

\---

When Lance and Hunk arrived, Pidge and Keith had been sat by her computer, playing a rather intense game of Pong- He barely broke away when the guys entered the main room, but did manage to glance up at Lance just in time to catch his discreet head nod toward the hallway, toward their rooms. He headed off and no one stopped him, so Keith waited a few moments before he pushed his controller at Hunk, who’d decided to join them. 

“ _ You _ try and beat her. This is too intense.” He growled, faking annoyance as he stomped off. Pidge just smiled at him and watched him go, jumping right into the game to kick Hunk’s ass. 

As Keith padded down the hall, no shirt, no socks, he looked around for where Lance might have gone. He had no clue though, not until his boyfriend reached out and yanked him into his bedroom. Keith stumbled in, about to whine about the rough handling, but Lance pressed a kiss to him quickly, catching the complaint between his lips. 

“Miss me?” Lance asked, cocky smirk on his lips as he pressed Keith back, up against the door, cold metal against his bare back making him gasp and cringe forward. But Lance’s hand smoothed up his spine, warm and inviting. “I got us something.” Lance sighed, leaning to nuzzle Keith’s flushed cheek before he pulled back. Keith barely had a second to speak before Lance was pulling out a weird container from his backpack. 

“What-” Keith started, but Lance was super giddy, unscrewing the cap.

“Seaweed face mask.” Lance pushed the nasty looking green goo toward his boyfriend, who flinched away from it, making quite the disgusted face. “Oh my god, have you  _ ever _ used a face mask? Or a moisturizer, even?” Lance sighed, obviously put off by Keith’s reaction. 

“You said you’d get me a pet squid, or seashells... Not... over-rated face goo.” Keith grumbled, crossing his arms in a huff. Not that he had actually  _ wanted _ a pet squid, or that he actually had a  _ place _ for seashells. He just… didn’t see the point in face masks. Lance always had them on, and Keith had been so excited when he ran out. No more cucumber hell for him.

“Oh, this is  _ better _ . Trust me, this shit is the  _ real deal. _ ” Lance said, taking a big sniff from the jar before closing it. “We’ll do that after I shower. Honestly, I smell like a tuna.” Lance grumbled, and Keith chuckled, nodding in agreement. Lance didn’t let the cocky smirk on Keith’s face last for long, stuffing the jar back into his bag and turning to press Keith back into the wall. 

“And  _ you _ smell like sex. I wonder why?” Lance teased, watching Keith’s blush spread over his cheeks, down his neck, over his chest. “Shower?” Lance asked, his hands finding their spot on Keith’s bare hips. Keith just nodded, hands coming up to grip Lance’s face gently. 

“I missed you.” Keith sighed, eyes shifting up to look into Lance’s, and Lance’s face softened immediately. He smiled to him, landing a quick kiss on his nose.  _ Anxiety _ , faded.

“I wish you coulda come with us. You’d like the  _ mermen _ there.” Lance was back to teasing, and Keith shoved him, smile on his lips as he followed his boyfriend toward the showers. 

\---

It didn’t take long for things to get intimate- it never really did, considering how comfortable they were getting with each other. Hands fell into place naturally, fingers slipping over wet skin and fresh bruises effortlessly. Their lips were drawn together like magnets, tugging apart with great difficulty, only to mash back together after a moment's breath. 

Keith took a moment to look over Lance’s torso as he shampooed his hair, and after deciding he didn’t have any new wounds to worry about, he decided he could safely move his hands to grip his tanned waist. Lance sighed and leaned back into him, bending forward to rinse the suds from his hair quickly. 

“ _ Ay Dios _ .” Lance groaned, flipping his wet hair around when he stood back up. Keith just chuckled and leaned to kiss Lance’s shoulder, nuzzling into the freckles there. “What do you want?” Lance asked, a smile creeping over his lips. 

“Nothing.” Keith sighed, his arms wrapping completely around Lance’s waist now, tugging their bodies flush together. He sighed and enjoyed the closeness, the warmth, both of them basking in it as the water rushed between them. “I just...  _ missed _ you.” Keith mumbled, sighing deeply as he rested his forehead between Lance’s shoulder blades. 

“Hey, I missed you more.” Lance sighed, turning his face up with a smile as the water rushed over him. ‘ _ Doubt it’ _ , Keith thought, remembering just how  _ alone _ he had felt.  “What do you say to that face mask? Will you  _ please _ do it with me?” Lance asked, and Keith couldn’t say no to the way Lance’s hands slipped over his, gripping him tight. 

“Fine- but if it’s super gross I’m wiping it off right away.” Keith grumbled out, and Lance smiled, bouncing on his toes before he pulled away, turning the water off. Keith sighed as a towel was tossed toward him, and Lance scurried off to grab one for himself. 

_ This _ was what he was missing. 

\---

“Oh my… oh my god.” Keith gasped, staring at his tingling face in the mirror. He was a nasty green color, and it felt like a million needles were biting his face, especially around his nose. “I’m going to lose all my skin, Lance! It’s going to burn off!” Keith cried as the mask tightened all over his face. Lance made a face at him, his skin coated in the nasty green goo as well. 

“That’s because your skin is  _ nasty _ , Keith. It’ll do you  _ good _ to lose a few layers.” Lance teased, smirking as he sipped his tea. Keith was not having it though, bouncing, pacing, gripping his towel as he waited for the weird tingling to stop. 

“ _ It’s not nasty! It’s perfectly clean! _ ” Keith hissed, whipping around to face the mirror again.

“It’s been _ two minutes _ \- you have to wait at least like, thirteen more.” Lance huffed, leaning back against the bathroom counter, hair wrapped in a towel. 

“How do you  _ sleep _ with this shit on?!” Keith cried, throwing his hands up as he turned away from the counter, over toward his clothes. He hadn’t even bothered with grabbing a real outfit- just more sweatpants and a hoodie. With his wet hair tugged back with a towel headband- per Lance’s request- He tugged his hoodie on carefully, then pushed his towel down to pull on some red briefs and then the sweatpants. 

“Oh, come on, you big baby. You fought through like, a hundred of those Marmora guys and  _ this _ is what’s driving you up a wall?” Lance laughed, placing his mug on the counter to reach out for Keith’s hand. Keith let him take it, though he was rather annoyed. 

“It’s  _ not _ normal! Kicking ass, is normal. Seaweed shit? Not normal!” Keith whined, stepping into Lance’s arms when he was pulled toward them. “Plus- I look weird.” Keith chuckled, watching Lance make a rather hilarious face, lips puckered, eyebrow cocked. “Oh god, no,  _ you _ look weird.” Keith was laughing, and Lance was too, his hands slipping down around Keith’s waist. 

“You look  _ beautiful _ .” Lance sighed, and Keith’s laugh halted, replaced by a silent blush and a drop of his gaze, looking down now at the hands on his waist. He was quiet for a moment before he looked back up, glad Lance couldn’t see the redness of his cheeks under the green layer of goop. 

“Seaweed face.” Keith mumbled, and Lance snorted, pulling back a bit to look over his grumpy lover. He was trying so hard to keep cool, and Lance thought it was quite endearing. 

“So, how was it without the amazing ‘seaweed face’ to keep you company yesterday?” Lance asked, smiling a bit as he turned to run a face towel under warm water for them. Keith shifted awkwardly, a little weirded out about the way he reacted to Lance leaving. He almost didn’t want to admit it- It was embarrassing. 

“Just uh, just fine.” Keith shrugged, and Lance made a face, wringing out the towel before he wiped his own face down. “It was lonely.” Keith admitted, waiting as Lance wiped his face clean, then rinsed the towel for him to use. When Lance handed it over, he quickly realized his boyfriend was an  _ idiot _ , scrubbing his face with the towel, way too roughly.

“God- Let me-” Lance huffed, snatching the cloth to gently wipe away the crusty product, getting every last bit from his boyfriend's skin. “Here- you’re gonna moisturize every night with me from now on.  _ Feel _ that.” Lance sighed, tossing the towel away as he brushed his fingers down Keith’s  _ amazingly _ smooth cheek. Keith huffed and pushed at his cheek, bit soon was rubbing his palm over it, eyes wide as he stared into the mirror. 

“Maybe it’s not  _ that _ overrated…” Keith breathed, leaning into the mirror to stare at his own face- It was smooth and slightly shiny, just like Lance’s was. He pushed and smoothed over his gummy cheeks, staring at himself just as much as Lance was- though Lance’s cheeks were a little more flushed. The blue paladin tucked his arms around Keith’s waist, tugging him in tight from behind. 

“Do you… Do you wanna go to bed? In my room?” Lance asked, hiding his face in Keith’s pale, scarred shoulder. When he peeked up, he noticed Keith was staring at them now, his eyes focusing on the way Lance held him, how perfect he looked against him. “Keith?” Lance asked, voice just a breath against Keith’s shoulder. 

“Yes.” Keith shuddered, leaning back, gripping Lance’s hands tight. Lance planted a kiss right onto his shoulder, lips lingering for a moment to study him before he let go, gripping Keith’s hand tight. 

 

Something was off.  

 

As Lance led them back to their rooms, they dropped hands, keeping their distance as Hunk passed right between them. He didn’t give them a weird look, just smiled to them as he nodded toward the kitchen, indicating that dinner was ready. Lance just shot him a smile and a thumbs up, while Keith worked on avoiding it, and Hunk disappeared down the hall. 

“Hungry?” Lance asked, glancing over at Keith, who just shook his head. He was nervous, fingers gripping into his sleeve. Keith suddenly felt the need to talk about how he reacted to Lance’s absence, about how he felt so empty and cold without him there. Lance picked up on his body language and waited until they were safe in his room before he wrapped him in a hug, warm hands pressing against the small of his back. “What’s wrong?” Lance sighed, and Keith shrugged, reaching up to grip the back of Lance’s blue night shirt. 

“I’m just- I’m really shit at talking. About stuff.” Keith fumbled his words, frustrated already with his lack of communication skills. Lance sighed and thumbed over the small of his back, a bit worried. What did Keith need to talk about that was making him so on edge? He could practically feel the nerves rippling from his spine. 

“It’s okay. Honestly, I’m not the best either.” Lance chuckled, tugging him backward toward the small bed. “I want you to talk though, even if it doesn’t come out right.” Lance sighed, tugging away when Keith was sat beside him. He let Keith fidget, shift back, pull his hood up then tug it down again… Lance just waited, leaning back up against the wall near his bed. 

“It’s just… When you were gone.” Keith had finally made himself comfortable enough to speak, bunched up in the corner of the bed furthest away from Lance. He was just… nervous. He didn’t want Lance to get annoyed that he was so… attached? Was that even the right word? “I missed you too much, I think?” Keith croaked, regretting the stupid wording choice as soon as it was out of his mouth. Lance’s smile made him feel better though, and he tensed when Lance scooted closer, cross legged in front of him. 

“I dunno if ‘ _ missing someone too much _ ’ is a real thing.” Lance chuckled, reaching out to play with the hem of Keith’s sleep pants. Keith just sighed and gripped his sleeves, shrugging. He had no idea how to word anything. 

“It was  _ scary _ .” Keith murmured, not meeting Lance’s eyes. The blue paladin just listened, gazing up at Keith’s face. It was getting worse, the anxiousness Keith felt- he could tell. He wanted to wrap him in a hug, but knew Keith was having a hard enough time thinking without him distracting him. “I felt really alone. Almost like you weren’t coming back? Like you’d been gone for weeks- It was only hours, Lance.” Keith sighed it all out at once, tears welling in his eyes as he finally looked up to his boyfriend. Lance’s eyes flickered with worry for a split second, before he decided the hug was overdue now, and he pulled Keith into his lap as he started to fall apart. He was catching him again, putting him back together, just like he had all those months ago. 

“Keith- You’ve lost  _ so _ much. It’s natural for you to be that worried, at least I think it is.” Lance started, looking down to push Keith’s hair from his face, thumb brushing his tears from under his eyes. “Anxiety is natural, and okay to have. You’re no weaker for it, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Lance told him, voice soft. 

“I don’t  _ want _ to feel like that- I don’t  _ want _ to feel like I can’t breathe when you’re not here.” Keith whispered, but they were only getting closer, reaching his nervous hands up to cup Lance’s cheeks. Lance smiled to him, pushing his cheek into Keith’s palm. 

“Then I’m not leaving you alone anymore.” Lance sighed, slipping a hand over Keith’s, linking them together. “Not until you’re okay, at least.” Lance smiled again for Keith, even though his chest was tight and he was on the verge of tears too. To find out that his boyfriend was so far broken that he felt this way, made him hurt. But it made him want to fix it even more. 

“Lance, that’s fucking ridiculous and you know it-” Keith started, hand tightening into a balled fist, Lance’s fingers tight in his palm. “You can’t just stay by my side forever.” Keith sighed, glancing down again. Lance wanted to say that  _ yes _ , he sure as shit  _ could  _ and _ would _ , but he decided that wasn’t the smartest thing to say, not yet.

“But we can work on it.” Lance told him, pushing him gently back into the pillows, crawling above him. “We can fix it, and make it bearable- I’ll show you how important you are.” Lance murmured, tugging the blankets over the both of them as he kissed at Keith’s cheeks, over the salty wetness that trailed down them. “I’ll love you hard enough so you can have some left over, for when we’re apart.” He whispered, not hearing the crack in his own voice- but Keith did, both his hands moving up to cup Lance’s face, fingers tight and trembling. “I’ll give you enough love to make up for what you didn’t get, when I wasn’t around.” 

Lance was finally crying now too, and it was the sappiest shit either of them had ever seen, but they’d laugh about how gay it was later- right now, Keith was trying to stop his heart from exploding from how full it felt, and Lance was just trying to keep it all together, for both of them. 

“You don’t have to make up for anything, Lance-” Keith started, but Lance cut him off with a kiss, warm saltwater pooling between their noses where they pressed together.

“I  _ want _ to, and I  _ will _ .” Lance told him, before he rolled to the side, pushing an arm under Keith’s neck, cradling him close. Keith nodded, feeling guilty still, that he had made Lance upset. He didn’t voice it though, he just curled up tight into Lance, fingers threading through his wet, brown hair. “I  _ know _ you’d do the same for me.” Lance murmured, as if feeling the doubt Keith held in his heart, and it made it all go away. He was so fucking  _ good _ at that.

Keith  _ absolutely _ would. He’d do anything, if Lance was hurting like this. He’d do all he could to make him smile again, to make him feel safe again. Lance was trying so hard for him, it almost felt unfair- Keith wondered why on earth Lance was putting up with this. He didn’t question him, though. He wouldn’t risk that.

He just lay with him, his head to Lance’s heartbeat as they both tried to fall asleep. 

 


	3. Blame isn't a good look on you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith tries to help his poor, self-hating boyfriend.

Keith followed after his boyfriend silently, gripping the blue paladin’s helmet in his hand. He was worried, and his heart felt like it was going to bust out of his chest with the nerves running through it. His body ached, burned,  _ throbbed _ , but he kept moving. Lance was angry, angry with himself. And Keith had no idea what the fuck he was supposed to do.

Lance ducked into the training room, gripping his face as he hurried toward the showers. Keith was practically jogging to keep up, hobbling a bit, glancing behind them to make sure no one had followed- They hadn’t. Keith tossed the helmet aside, then tugged his own off, a new dark bruise across his left eye, down the side of his face. 

“Lance- Please just  _ stop- _ ” Keith called, reaching back to undo part of his armor with a pained groan as they walked. He pushed the shoulder pads off weakly just as Lance stopped in front of a bench, rubbing his nose bridge before he did the same, unclipping his armor. He tugged the shoulder pads off, and with a loud, pissed off outburst, he whipped it all into the wall. 

“ _ ¡Qué mierda! _ ” Lance growled, ripping off his gloves to toss those away as well, and Keith flinched, waiting quietly by the end of the bench. It was like Lance didn’t see him- which was fine, Keith got like this too. But it was… odd, for Lance to be this angry. 

After about twenty minutes of angry yelling in a language that Keith didn’t understand, Lance finally turned to him. His fist gripped into his sweat-slicked hair, just as his face tensed and he started to cry. Keith couldn’t get to him fast enough, his arms pushing worriedly around a shaking torso, Lance’s body wracking with quiet, strained sobs. 

Keith didn’t say a word- he wasn’t good with those. Instead, he just waited, gripping Lance tight, grounding him. Lance just curled up against him, his hands gripping his face as the tears squeezed through. 

“I’m sorry, I messed  _ up… _ ” Lance mumbled, and Keith shook his head, brows furrowing as he rubbed Lance’s back, tracing small circles over his spine. He pulled back to try and get Lance’s hands from his face, and when the other man weakened, hands falling to his sides, Keith sighed, drying his cheeks with his sleeve. Lance looked up at him now, eyes exhausted, lips tight. 

“You didn’t mess up, Lance.” Keith murmured, reaching out to hold his hands, thumb tracing his knuckles. Lance let out an almost-laugh, his lips turning into a slight smile. But he wasn’t happy- Lance was still angry, still so upset that he could barely think straight. 

 

He had let Keith get injured, and  _ nothing _ hurt worse than that. 

Well, maybe the bruises covering Keith’s body did.

 

\---

 

They had stumbled upon yet another planet in need, under the thumb of the Galra empire, and naturally, Voltron was called upon to help them. They couldn’t refuse, they didn’t want to. Keith had been leading, Lance right behind, with Pidge and Allura flanking them, and Hunk right behind them. 

“Alright- I don’t think we need  _ Voltron _ for these guys, right?” Lance said, smirk on his lips as he leaned forward, speeding right up next to Keith. Keith shook his head and moved faster, rolling to avoid a blast from the enemy. 

“We might. Don’t count your chickens, right?” Keith chuckled, and Lance smiled wide, breaking off to start shooting up the offending cannon, cheering as it blew up and crumpled, tiny bots flying out to begin repairs already. Lance took those out too, hitting each bot right out of the park with his tail. 

“More like don’t count your repair bots until Lance is through with them!” Lance laughed, moving back into the formation of the group. Keith had just sighed at the bad joke and moved onto more important things, steering toward the giant ship in the center of an impeding fleet of fighter pilots. 

“Alright, Hunk you barrel through these fighters with Allura- Pidge, help ‘em out. Lance and I will go right for the ship and bust it up as much as we can.” Keith ordered, and everyone fell into the plan. Hunk obliterated the fighters, clearing a perfect pack for the Black and Blue Lion’s to move through. Once Keith and Lance were through, it was basically all over- for the Galra, that is. 

“This shouldn’t take long.” Lance chuckled, pressing hard onto his controls. Keith’s jawblade sliced a seam down the side of the ship, and Lance cheered him on as he blasted at the cannons, destroying them one after the other, then the repair bots that came to fix them. Keith had tried his best not to compliment Lance  _ too _ much, knowing full well that it’d go to his head and Keith would most likely regret it later. 

“Cannons and blasters are all out, right?” Keith asked, carefully maneuvering towards the front of the ship, but he waited for Lance’s okay before he moved any further.

“Oh, you know it baby.” Lance laughed, moving up above the ship to survey his damage. It was then, as a bright white light built up over the very tip of the ship, hidden behind a blaster he had  _ already _ destroyed, that Lance felt the color drain from his face, his feet going numb. “Keith- Keith  _ move _ !” Lance cried, just as Keith flew the Black Lion directly in it’s path. 

 

_ He couldn’t get the sound of Keith’s screams from his head. _

 

_ He couldn’t get the image of the Black Lion, drifting limply through space, out of his mind. _

 

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” Keith had groaned after a moment, but his lion was flickering, totally out of commission. Lance’s body felt weak as he rushed toward him, blasting the  _ hell _ out of the main cannon on his way. It exploded, taking the rest of the ship with it. Lance pushed Keith toward the castle as fast as he could, tears already squeezing from his eyes, swears on every exhale. 

“I’m sorry.” Lance croaked, pushing harder on his controls, willing them to move faster, away from the fight that still raged behind them. 

“Guys, fall back- We’ll come back.” Keith groaned out, leaning back weakly in his chair. A healing pod would do him some good. 

\---

Lance had finally managed to get a very sore, very weak Keith to a healing pod after his outburst, one he was extremely embarrassed about. He didn’t speak the whole way, just carried Keith, on his back, eyes fixed ahead of him. He shouldn’t have acted like that- He should have gotten Keith to a pod right away.

“Lance, it’s not your fault- We need to talk about it before you put me in there…” Keith groaned, fingers tight but weakening. The only reason he had been able to move before was the adrenaline. He was regretting that now, everything hurting ten times worse. 

“Nothing to talk about. I fucked up, that’s the end of it. I should have double checked the cannons.” Lance told him, hoisting him up a bit as he rounded a corner, then pushed a button for the doors to open for them. They were already at the healing bay. 

“Lance, even  _ I _ didn’t see it. You already destroyed one on the front, I saw you-  _ anyone _ could have made that mistake.” Keith sighed, pushing his face into Lance’s shoulder. Lance shook his head, moving to the closest healing pod, turning to settle Keith into it.

“It  _ wasn’t _ your job, though. It wasn’t just  _ anyone’s _ job- It was mine.” Lance told him, face dark, and Keith cringed at the new position, shifting in agony against the back of the pod. Before he could say anything more, Keith was surrounded in blue light, and Lance was stepping back, rubbing his nose again, waiting. He needed Keith to pass out  _ now _ , so he could finish fucking  _ berating _ himself. 

As soon as Keith’s eyes closed and the worry faded from his face, Lance dropped down to sit next to the pod, head in his hands. How could he have been so fucking  _ cocky _ ? How could he have missed such an obviously placed cannon- sure, it was hidden behind a blaster, but that shouldn’t have mattered. He should have  _ seen _ it. 

“This shouldn’t have happened.” Lance grumbled, tugging at his hair. “Not to you.” 

 

\---

As soon as Keith’s eyes opened, Lance was on his feet, standing in front of him, fidgeting with his sleeves. It had been two days. It had taken Keith  _ two days _ to recover from what  _ Lance _ did to him. Keith flashed Lance a small smile as he stretched, and Lance returned it, his own face creased with worry. He hadn’t eaten, he’d barely slept- he was still in his clothes from two days ago. 

“You smell bad.” Keith mumbled as he hugged Lance tight. When he backed off, he took in Lance’s state, eyeing his clothes, the sweat on his forehead, the exhaustion on his face. “What- how long’s it been?” Keith asked, glancing around- no one else was in the room, and he was glad. 

“Two days, s’been two days.” Lance stuttered, hands shaking as he picked at his fingernails. “I-I’m sorry- I  _ know _ you said it was okay, but I really fucked up, you were really hurt, and if- if you  _ died _ because of me-” Lance stammered, eyes flickering from his hands to Keith’s face and back, eyebrows furrowing more and more. 

“I’m not dead.” Keith interrupted, reaching out to grab for one of his hands. He was cold, clammy. “I’m not dead, and I’m not blaming you. I can’t stop you from blaming yourself, but I can tell you how fucking  _ unfair _ it is that you are.” Keith told him, and Lance’s eyes widened, staring down at Keith now. “That’s not fair to Blue, and it’s not fair to you.” Keith told him, and Lance shook his head, eyebrows tight together. 

“I- I should have looked more thoroughly, studied Galra ship builds closer, I shouldn’t have given you the okay-” Lance started, but Keith shook his head, pulling Lance in for a hug. He tried to ignore the sour smell emanating from him, wrinkling his nose as he spoke. 

“Maybe you missed a cannon, yeah. It hit me, and I was pretty hurt from it. But that doesn’t change the fact that you took out fifteen blasters in one minute flat.” Lance sighed, shaking his head, still full of hatred for himself. “That doesn’t change the fact that when I was hurt, you took out that fucking cannon and came  _ right for me _ . You messing up, doesn’t change the fact that you are my partner, my first choice, and the best fucking shot we have on this team.” Lance tensed at that, face pressing into the top of Keith’s hair, feeling his chest tighten. Oh yeah-  _ Keith loved him _ . “You’re the only person I would have chosen for the job, and I’d choose you again. Over and over.” Keith told him, and he felt Lance’s body relax, his arms finally tightening around him, crushing him into a hug. 

“I’m still going to try harder.” Lance mumbled, and Keith nodded, fists balling into his shirt. He sighed before he pulled back, pushing at Lance a little. 

“You should actually try even  _ harder _ and go take a damn shower.” Keith told him, and Lance burst out laughing, feeling two days worth of tension melt away, replaced with extreme sleepiness and hunger. At the sound of his roaring stomach, Keith laughed, grabbing his hand once more. “And we should eat- I’m starving.” Keith sighed, keeping a good arm's length between him and Lance as they walked. 

\---

 

After they both had showered and eaten about seven full meals  _ each _ , they crashed hard on Lance’s bed, his arms tight around Keith’s middle. Sleep found them easily, both feeling a lot better than they had before, physically and emotionally. They slept until the late hours of the afternoon, no one coming to bother them. They all knew Keith needed his sleep, and could tell Lance had been off for days. 

 

When they finally woke, Lance had somehow fallen off the small bed, and Keith was sprawled out like a starfish, blankets thrown everywhere. Keith was the first to wake, checking the time before he sat up groaning, tugging his fluffy bed hair into a ponytail. 

“Lance…” Keith groaned, glancing down to the floor. He stared for a moment before he laughed, leaning down to tug at Lance’s shoulder. “Hey… You’re on the floor…” Keith sighed, tugging him up. Lance yawned and practically slithered up onto the bed, weaseling his way back into the blankets. 

“I demand five more minutes, since you kicked me off the bed.” Lance sighed, pushing his face into Keith’s lap. His eyes popped open though, hand pushing up over the blue fabric of the boxers hugging Keith’s hips. “Blue... Looks nice… And-  _ Hello, _ sir.” Lance smirked, fingers pushing against the stiffness under the boxers. Keith blushed and smacked Lance’s hand away, scooting back a bit. “Hey! Ain’t no shame in that.” Lance slurred, sitting up slowly with an obnoxious crack of his back. 

“Don’t be  _ weird _ .” Keith grumbled, twisting away from Lance to try and adjust himself, but now that he realized it was there, it was very hard to ignore. His cheeks were burning, hands twisting in the hem of the boxers he’d borrowed from Lance. He felt hands circle around his waist, and soon he was pulled onto his boyfriend’s lap, feeling the same stiffness press against his back. At least he wasn’t alone in this. 

“Not weird.” Lance chuckled, fingers pressing softly under Keith’s shirt, into the warm skin of his waist. He kissed up Keith’s shoulder, face buried in the warmth of his neck now as he pushed his hand downward. His fingers trailed down Keith’s tummy, following down the trail of dark hair until he made it under the cloth, hand gripping around him, handling him carefully. “Lemmie take care of you. Least I can do, all things considered.” Lance murmured, stroking Keith slowly. 

“Y-You don’t have to, it’s really okay-” Keith gasped, his hunched knees already falling apart, his back pressing tight into Lance’s chest as he gazed down. “You’re the worst…” Keith breathed, feeling more constricted by the boxers than he wanted to, so he pushed them off, not bothering to kick them from his ankles. He leaned his head back, resting it against Lance’s shoulder with a small groan as his hips bucked forward. 

“Mmm… know what?” Lance stopped suddenly after a few moments of a very lazy hand job, shifting out from behind Keith. As he got to his feet, Keith finally got the chance to see the extent of Lance’s erection, making a tent in his boxers- had it gotten worse? He moved to a small set of drawers and tugged out the box of condoms, fishing around for one. “Ah, only like three more left- we really gotta find more!” Lance whined, snatching the bottle of lube too. Keith fidgeted a little, kicking the boxers away before he spoke. 

“We don’t- we don’t _need_ to use one…” Keith murmured, shifting up to his knees. The shirt he wore hung low on his body, shifting off one shoulder. Lance licked his lips, tossing the condom somewhere into the laundry pile of his room. He didn’t even give it a second thought, just moved toward Keith on the bed, up on his knees as well. “Fuck _you,_ _and_ your height.” Keith grumbled, peeking up at him from under his lashes. He was so damn tall, it was unfair. Lance smirked, then handed over the lube to Keith, who stared down at the bottle as if he’d never seen it before- Lance usually did the prep work... 

“You could, if you wanted to.” Lance told him, and Keith’s face was a dark shade of red now, still staring at the bottle in his hands. “Fuck me.” Lance tried not to laugh at how red Keith was getting, the flush spreading and disappearing under the shirt. It took him a few seconds, but he collected himself enough to tug his shirt off, 

“Well- fine- but you need to… lay down, then.” Keith sputtered, cursing himself, knowing he sounded so fucking lame. Lance was much, much better at this, words, flirting, dirty talk. There was a reason  _ he _ topped and Keith  _ didn’t _ . Maybe he just needed to… let things flow. Lance was good at planning. Keith, not so much. 

“Yessir.” Lance flopped onto his back with a smirk, lifting his hips to push his boxers down, then kick them away onto the floor. Keith took a few deep breaths and placed the bottle down next to Lance, crawling over him as Lance had done to him many times before. He didn’t get up to his face yet though, stopping at his chest, kissing up until he reached the crook of his neck. He hesitated, and pressed his lips down hard, sucking a dark mark at the base of his throat.

The noise Lance made was beautiful, and Keith smirked, shifting from his elbows up to his fists as he gained a little more confidence. Keith decided that one hickey was  _ not _ enough, so he shifted to leave another, then another, and another. Soon, the blue paladin was coated in marks, spreading down from his collar toward his chest, the lowest one right next to his nipple. Keith reveled in how red Lance had gotten, his eyes hazed over now as he stared up at Keith. He made his way back, finally finding his lips with a deep kiss. 

“You’re mean...” Lance mumbled against raw red lips, but Keith chuckled, one hand slipping down behind Lance’s head, tugging his hair gently. It gained him another moan, and Lance’s body arched up, his hands pushing into Keith’s hair. He tugged the ponytail out, tossing it away. “Hair’s gettin’ long, babe…” Lance sighed, moaning as Keith shifted a hand down, over his cock. 

“You sure ‘bout this, love?” Keith asked, his words drawled as he spoke. Lance blushed and nodded, tucking his nose into Keith’s shoulder as he felt him shift to grab for the lube. He’d never called him  _ that _ before. It made Lance’s heart race faster than it had been fluttering before.

“You gonna get all lovey-dovey on me now?” Lance asked, but his tone wasn’t cocky like he had wanted it to be- it was quiet, a bit nervous as he felt slick fingers trail down the underside of his cock, making him gasp against pale, scarred skin. As the fingers pressed against his entrance, he tensed, and Keith shifted, rubbing over him gently. 

“Relax.” Keith sighed, deep and hot against Lance’s ear. He was going to have to do something to help him, wasn’t he? Lance’s body was tight, and Keith kissed his ear, tongue flicking over the shell of it. “Open up for me, baby.  _ Please _ .” Keith breathed, and Lance’s body melted, thighs shivering as Keith felt him relax, and a smirk grew over his lips. He pressed his middle finger in slowly, rocking it gently. Lance gasped, legs kicking up around Keith’s waist. “Thought you didn’t like when I said please, huh?” Keith asked, chuckling lowly into his lover’s ear. 

“D-Don’t get all cocky on me now-” Lance huffed out, breath hitching as Keith pressed the finger all the way in, still thrusting it ever so gently. He smirked when Lance gasped suddenly, his chest arching forward. Keith did his best to repeat the motion, listening to the noises he made, the way his hips were moving. “ _ Please- _ More-” Lance gasped, and Keith smirked, pressing his smile into Lance’s shoulder as he worked his second finger in, stretching him ever so carefully. 

The way Lance’s body moved, the way his moans shuddered through his body and down to his toes, it made Keith that much more confident. It also made him  _ very _ aware that he needed to make this absolutely incredible for Lance- once he had three fingers working, and Lance’s hips were working back, he tugged his fingers free, reaching to wipe them on a discarded towel. 

“ _ H-Hey _ \- wha…” Lance slurred, eyes flickering open to watch Keith as he sat up, grabbing for more lube. He stroked it over his own cock, and Lance swallowed hard, realizing what was next. He propped himself up on his elbows to watch Keith, watch him work his fist over his cock, watch his stomach muscles tense. He trailed his eyes up Keith’s torso and up to his face, and when he met his eyes, he felt like his body caught fire, breath hitching in his throat. Keith was staring right at him, his hair slightly in his eyes, but he was  _ watching _ him. 

“You’re beautiful like that.” Keith’s voice was practically a growl, and Lance’s body trembled, knees falling apart as Keith shifted toward him. Keith might usually be  _ shit _ with words, but for some reason, he was making lance into food goo with the way he spoke, the little things he said. 

“W-Where’s this coming from-  _ carajo- _ ” Lance breathed out, falling back onto the pillows as Keith pressed him down, pressed his cock up against him. Lance’s hands were starting to fail him, fingers gripping at lots of nothing before he finally gripped Keith’s biceps. He felt them working underneath his palms, Keith sliding the tip of his cock over his entrance, teasing him. 

“I think you forget, I’m really supposed to pilot the Red Lion.” Keith sighed, his free hand shifting to grip into Lance’s hair. “Instinct, love.” Keith growled, pressing carefully into his partner, and Lance gasped, fingers tightening against hot, tight muscle. He felt his own heart racing, and wondered how the hell Keith was keeping it so cool, acting like it was nothing, hips rocking sweetly into him, deeper and deeper. 

“Oh,  _ fuck… _ ” Lance gasped, chin jerking up as Keith tugged on his hair, exposing his neck. Keith was pushing all his buttons somehow, as if he had known all along what Lance wanted, what he craved. It made his blood boil in the best way possible. As Keith made it halfway to the hilt, he stopped, hips rolling slowly. 

“S’good?” Keith asked, lips pressed to Lance’s throat, teeth grazing as he waited for an answer. Lance pressed his heels into Keith’s hips, willing him deeper, but he didn’t budge. “ _ Words _ , Lance.” Keith reminded him, and Lance whined, hips jerking. 

“M-More- Deeper-  _ anything- _ ” Lance was barely finished with his words before Keith was rocking deeper, tugging his hair harder, stuffing him full completely,  _ finally _ . Lance’s hands were weak against Keith’s arms and his breath was tight. 

“Good enough?” Keith asked, finally releasing the grip he had on Lance’s hair, the man’s head flopping down to the side as he got used to the thickness pressed inside him. Keith softened for a second, dipping down to press a light kiss to his cheek. “Is it okay? Tell me if it’s not?” Keith asked quietly, the growl gone from his voice, and Lance nodded, knowing he wouldn’t be able to form any words at this point. 

The dark but careful roughness that took over Keith’s actions was intoxicating. He was usually nervous, trying too hard, thinking too much- but he seemed in his element. He was relaxed, his movements fluid, no hesitation- unless he was checking on his Lance. And Lance? Fucking loved it. He was a goddamn  _ mess _ . 

“M-Move, Keith- I’m ready-” Lance gasped, hips shifting slightly to try and get friction. But Keith’s hands were stopping him, holding his hips down hard. Lance whined, and Keith sat up, grabbing for a pillow to stuff under Lance’s hips as he got to his knees. Just that small movement was making Lance’s toes curl. 

“What d’you say?” Keith asked, gazing down at Lance again, hands smoothing down his thighs, towards his knees, gripping under them to push them up. Lance was almost too far gone in his daze to reply, but when he did, it was a hot, breathy moan. 

“ _ Please _ …” Lance begged, and Keith’s smirk was dark, spreading over his lips slowly before he drew his hips back, pushing more on Lance’s knees. Lance shivered at the way it felt, but cried out when Keith’s hips were pressed to his ass again, his cock buried deep inside him. If he had anything to say before, it was gone now, his thoughts scrambled in an instant. 

Keith started off slow, but that didn’t really last very long at all. Soon, he was fucking down into Lance, replying to his needy moans with just what he wanted, filling him perfectly every single time. Lance’s knees had somehow made it over Keith’s shoulders, and Keith was gripping tight to his thighs now, holding him steady as he pistoned his hips into him. 

“K-Keith I- Mierda-  _ Keith- _ ” Lance slurred, his hands trying to find a spot to grab that wasn’t the bed. He ended up reaching for Keith’s hand, gripping over where it tightened into the freckled softness of his own thighs. His other hand ended up over his cock, jerking at the same pace that Keith pushed into him. He was close already, and this was just driving him over the edge. 

“No.” Keith growled, and Lance gasped, letting his hand be pushed away and replaced with Keith’s own, and it somehow felt a hundred times better than his own. His body rocked as his moaning got louder, back arched to take as much of Keith as he could. 

“I-I’m gonna _fuckin’_ _come_ , babe-” Lance gasped, and Keith eyed him, waiting for the rest. Lance caught on fast. “ _Please make me come, please_ -” Lance gasped, and Keith’s pace quickened, pressing into him, working his cock _just right_ so that he spilled over into Keith’s hand, body quivering and tensing as he did. He was so lost in how fucking good he felt, he barely realized Keith had shifted over him again, kissing his mouth as he moaned, swallowing up the sweet noises. And all too soon, Keith had pulled out, his hand disappearing from Lance’s cock, onto his own. 

Lance moaned and wrapped his arms up around Keith’s neck, kissing him back, deep and messy as Keith moaned into his lips, biting down on the lower one as he came, more cum spilling into his hand, making his body shudder. 

“Was that okay?” Keith asked, and Lance sighed, body sinking into the bed slowly as he came down from the high of his orgasm. He kissed up at Keith’s waiting lips, hands pushing up lazily into his hair. 

“ _ Very _ okay.” Lance sighed, tugging him a bit so he flopped to his side. “Who was  _ that _ , Keith? That wasn’t you. You have a twin? A cooler twin?” Lance asked, and Keith suddenly regretted making him use his words. “A twin with a kink for  _ begging _ ?” Lance teased, and Keith shut him up with a kiss. 

“I don’t like having to ask- but I  _ love _ it when you do.” Keith sighed, pushing his clean hand into Lance’s hair. “There’s something so cute about seeing  _ you _ ,  _ mister cool _ , being needy.” Keith teased, and Lance pushed at his arm, rolling away. “Hey.” Keith grunted, tugging Lance into a hug from behind, arms around his middle. 

“I felt like I was getting plowed by the Red Lion.” Lance snickered, and Keith wrinkled his nose, nuzzling into the back of his hair. 

“That’s… weird.” Keith huffed, and Lance shrugged, stretching out a bit. 

“It was hot as  _ fuuuck _ .” Lance groaned, then twisted his head to kiss Keith’s cheek. 

“Noted.” Keith sighed, and even though they had just woken, he was already exhausted. 

“Is it too early to nap?” Lance asked, eyes sleepy as he relaxed into the bed again, letting Keith nuzzle into his neck. He was answered with a grunt and a tightening of Keith’s arms. “Nap it is, then.” Lance sighed, nuzzling his face into the pillows, happy smile making his cheeks hurt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¡Qué mierda! = What the fuck!   
> Carajo = fuck  
> Mierda = shit 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dqMyh4ILIg ::::: If this ain’t the perfect song for these chapters, I don’t know what is. My fave new klance song jfc pls look at Issues by Julia Michaels
> 
> I usually listen to specific albums/ songs when writing chapters and scenes- would you guys like if i wrote that in the notes so you could listen while you read? idk im a big gay sorry - but for this chapter i listened to issues the whole time then shuffled some Arctic Monkeys for the sex scene lol 
> 
> Two chapters this weekend bc ur comments are driving me, also this is the shortest chapter by far.


	4. One year's time.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a year, it's been too long.

Right. 

 

Left. 

 

One. 

 

Two, three. 

 

Keith’s fist collided with the robots, his sword reaming through it afterwards. He kicked at it, sending it flying. 

“Start training level five.” Keith growled, taking a couple steps back as new, fresh robots rose from the floor. He wasted no time in jumping toward them, expertly fucking them up and turning them into a pile of twitching, sparking scrap. Keith was exhausted, but he kept going, kept pushing, kept asking. “Start training level six! Come on!” Keith roared, his face twisting as he growled into his punches. 

He almost whipped his fist into the person who placed a hand on his shoulder, but it was familiar. 

“Cmon- dinner.” Lance’s voice was quiet, but his smile was louder in Keith’s ears than any of the buzzing or clacking metal. He pushed into his arms, curling up against him for a few seconds. “I know.” Lance murmured, his arms wrapping Keith into a tight hug. 

 

It had been one year, exactly. 

 

One year, since Shiro had disappeared. 

Dinner was silent. They all knew. They all felt it. 

The rest of the night was silent, and Keith couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Lance.” Keith’s voice was rough, breaking the silence in Lance’s room as they had both been doing their own things, Keith sharpening his blade and Lance clicking away at some handheld video game. Lance peeked up, eyebrow cocked. 

“Wanna play too?” Lance asked, but Keith shook his head, getting to his feet. 

“I’m gonna go out and- I’m gonna go look for him. I’m taking a ship, not my Lion.” Keith told him, stuffing his knife back into its holster. Lance was on his feet in seconds, the video game falling to the floor as he followed Keith, who had already made it to the door. 

“Wait- It’s a bad idea- what if something happens?” Lance asked, grabbing Keith’s hand before he opened the door. Keith tugged his hand away, turning to Lance to answer him. 

“Coran is here. You’ll pilot Black, Coran can do Blue, whatever, it’ll work out if you need to form voltron-” Keith was cut off by Lance, shaking his head and jerking on his arm to try and snap him back to the real world. 

“I mean to you. What if something happens to you?” Lance asked, his eyebrows twisted high on his face. He was so confused as to why Keith would just go out. And he had thought about it, what would happen if they needed to form voltron without him. It made Lance’s stomach twist. When Keith didn’t answer, he sighed and let go of his hand. “I’ll go.” Lance sighed, turning to grab his jacket from the bed. 

“You can’t- both of us can’t go, Lance…” Keith mumbled, watching Lance push past him, through the door. He followed, staying close to his side. 

“Well  _ you _ shouldn’t even go, so I guess it doesn’t matter. And we’re taking  _ my _ lion- it’s way safer that way.” Lance sighed, walking with purpose now as he pushed through the doors to the kitchen. Keith looked around and waited as Lance grabbed a bag and a few weird space snacks from the cabinets, handing it to Keith. “In case.” Lance said, and Keith nodded, glad that his boyfriend was willing to do something this stupid with him. 

As they made their way toward the Blue Lion’s hangar, they snuck their way past everyone, waving to Hunk, tiptoeing behind Pidge. They were all doing their own things, but the same solemn aura hung around everyone. Lance couldn’t help but notice the way Allura pushed tears from her eyes as she stood by a window in the common room, staring out. She missed him too, but she was the quietest about it, she had to be. She had to be strong, for all of them. 

 

“Alright- You ready?” Lance asked, plopping down into his seat in the Blue Lion, glancing up at Keith. He nodded, plopping down beside him, someone making both of them fit in the tiny seat. He pulled his helmet on and Lance did too, knowing they at least needed them for filtration purposes. As Lance’s lion roared to life, literally, he looked up, then leaned back into the seat. 

“I hope we find something.” Keith sighed, picking at his fingers as they rose from the hangar. Allura's face popped up on their screen, but Lance pushed it away, quickly breaking their connection. “I’m sorry to drag you with me.” Keith sighed, and Lance shook his head, looking over to him as he pushed harder on the lion’s controls, and they went faster, out of range of the castle. 

“You’re not dragging me- I wanna find him, too.” Lance replied, and Keith swore he saw the shimmer of wetness in Lance’s eye. 

\---

Five hours and no fucking luck later, Keith was at the end of his rope. He and Lance had been scanning through star systems and planet maps for hours, and he felt his eyes burning, blinking away the exhaustion that threatened him. Lance had been helpful too, throwing new angles on old ideas Keith had. He had reached for Lance’s hand at one point, holding over it before he leaned back again, leaning up against his shoulder. 

“Maybe we should… Take a break.” Lance sighed, peeking over at Keith, who shook his head, leaning forward again. He reached out to scan through another star map, then hid the scanners again, watching them trace over a new planet. It was far, and it was in a system almost exactly like earth- it was the third planet out from it’s sun and had one moon. “We’re taking a break.” Lance huffed. 

“No, we don’t need to.” Keith grumbled, tearing his helmet off to rub his eyes. Lance sighed and started heading toward the planet, but Keith nudged the controls, knocking them off course a little. “Don’t want to.” Keith whined, he sounded like a kid. Lance just grumbled and pushed on the controls, pushing them back on course. “Why do we have to?” Keith asked, and Lance sighed, looking over at him. He wished he hadn’t. 

Keith’s face was a mess. His eyes were soaking his face, which was twisted in pain. Lance looked away again, willing his lion faster. He needed to get Keith into a clear headspace, and he didn’t want his lion drifting into something if he let the controls go. 

“We have to because  _ you _ need to take a breath. We’ve been at this for too long, and you’re frustrated.” Lance sighed, glad that they finally made it to the planet's atmosphere. He was relieved when his scanners told him that the planets makeup was almost exactly like earth's. That meant air, and somewhat of a nice temperature. 

Keiths crying wasn’t something Lance could ignore now, his sniffles turning to sobs. Lance landed his Lion quickly, splashing down into what he could only describe as an ocean. He wondered if there was any life here, life that would attack them. It didn’t matter though- as soon as he let go of the controls, Keith turned to him, arms curling into his chest as Lance held him. 

“He’s going to come home, Keith. He’s going to be okay- He’s probably off somewhere, on some planet, with a space wife and space kids.” Lance murmured, rocking a shaking Keith as he let his emotions go. Lance knew this was the only time Keith ever had the chance to let go, to open up. When he was completely alone, with Lance. He had probably done it with Shiro before too, but now, it was only Lance. 

“What happens if he doesn’t come back soon, Lance? Do we stop looking? I feel like we’ve already stopped looking! No one cares, not anymore!” Keith cried, gripping his hands into fists, fingernails digging into his palms.  Lance shook his head, grabbing for his hands to tear his fingers away. 

“If you think no one cares,  _ no one at all _ , you’re blind. Allura was crying, earlier. Everyone was dead fucking quiet at dinner. Maybe it seems like no one cares, because everyone’s holding out hope.” Lance told him, and Keith was glaring at the hands that held his, then up to Lance. “I know it hurts, Keith. I know it fucking hurts, and it sucks, it feels-” Lance was cut off, Keith’s hands tearing away as he got to his feet. 

“You don’t know how it feels, Lance! You don’t care, either! No one cares!” Keith growled, his hands flying up before he slammed on a button, the Lion’s mouth opening so he could storm out. Lance huffed and got to his feet, following behind.

“Don’t fucking tell me I don’t care about finding him!” Lance yelled, stomping after him as they trudged through the water, toward the shore. It was just like earth, but smelled less salty. He barely had time to take in what this planet was like before Keith turned, pushing on his shoulders. 

“Then why haven’t we found him?  _ Why haven’t we found him _ ?! It’s been a full fucking year!” Keith yelled, and Lance pushed him back, sending him stumbling through the water. “A year he could be hurt! He could be  _ imprisoned _ ! He could be  _ fucking  _ **_dead_ ** !” Keith was screaming now, screaming over the loud wind, over the roaring ocean. He barreled toward Lance, who was fuming now. He spend so much time with Keith, trying to help him with his ideas, but also trying out his own. He was trying, he was trying so fucking hard. 

“Don’t fucking ask me why we haven’t found him like I haven’t been trying!” Lance yelled, catching Keith’s body as he tried to knock him over, but Lance had gotten stronger, able to take his shoulder i his hands and push him back. “He’s not dead, you can’t believe that!” Lance was pushing back on him now, knocking Keith back, until they were on the shore. 

“How can you pretend like he’s perfectly fine and dandy, then?!” Keith growled, fixing his stance to wait for Lance’s next blow, but it never came. Lance just dropped to his knees, face in his hands. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know how I can pretend, how we all pretend-” Lance choked, and Keith’s form softened, his fists dropping to his sides. “We all pretend he’s okay. Maybe so we can sleep better at night. Maybe so we can manage to focus on something  _ other _ than the pain, so we can get through the fucking day, so we can still  _ save _ the fucking day.” Lance mumbled, and Keith closed the space between them, regretting his outburst, regretting taking it out on Lance, regretting ever doubting them, any of them. 

“I’m sorry-” Keith breathed, his fingers trying to find purchase on Lance’s sweater, but he jerked back and got to his feet all too fast. 

“Just save it.” Lance mumbled, tromping off towards some rocks. He needed to get his shoes off, to dry them. Keith stayed there on the sand, staring down at his feet for a while before he turned. He just looked to Lance, his hair blowing in his face before he moved back towards him. He had kicked his shoes and socks off, currently burying his toes in the sand. 

He didn’t say anything, neither of them did. Lance just leaned back on the rocks and watched the ocean. His tears didn’t stop, blowing away from his eyelashes as the winds blew on them. They were strong, but it felt wonderful. It felt like home. He was crying for that reason now. He missed home more than anything, he missed the world he left- but he did love the life he lead. He’d have to go back one day, with everyone, with Keith. He looked over to his boyfriend, who had been watching him, his eyes still dripping. 

 

They just looked at eachother for a moment, a long moment before they finally came together. 

 

“I wanted to take you to this planet, when I saw it was like earth- I wanted it to have a sunset.” Lance laughed through his crying, face buried in Keith’s neck, arms ever tightening on Keith’s shoulders. Keith just smiled at that, pushing his tears into Lance’s cheek. 

“You’re so fucking romantic, damn loser!” Keith laughed, leaning forward when Lance pulled him up against the rocks, shielding them slightly from the raging winds. 

“When we go home, I’m taking you to a real beach, with real wind- none of this crazy intense wind.” Lance chuckled, kissing Keith’s cheek as they pulled back from each other. Keith had to pull his hair into a bun, to keep it from whacking Lance in the face again. 

“You wanna go home, like, to earth?” Keith asked, shifting closer once his hair was up. He pushed Lance’s tears away with his glove, drying his cheeks lovingly. Lance nodded, smiling at him as the final tears gathered on his lashes, dripping down onto Keith’s hands. 

“Yeah, of course…” Lance sighed, leaning back, tugging Keith close. “I miss my family… I’m worried about them.” Lance dropped his eyes, and Keith frowned, still cupping his cheek as he moved closer, resting their foreheads together carefully. It took him a minute to look back up, eyes flicking to meet Keith’s again. “I bet they’d love to meet you.” Lance murmured, and Keith blushed, fingers tightening. “Would you come with me, maybe when Shiro gets back? We could visit- we don’t have to stay, just visit-” Lance choked out, and Keith crushed him into a hug, holding him tight against the rocks. 

“I will. I’ll go with you.” Keith breathed, trying to calm Lance again. Too much crying for one day. Too much pain, too much confusion and anger-

 

_ Don’t be like me, don’t keep your emotions bottled up. That’ll kill you, you know. _

Shiro’s words rang through his mind and he sighed, stroking over Lance’s back. He didn’t stop him anymore, he just pulled back to smile at him, then nodded his head, over to a hilly area behind them. 

“Let’s go watch that sunset, okay?” Keith asked, and he sighed as a smile spread over Lance’s lips. He nodded, rubbing his eyes before he stepped from the rock, holding Keith’s hand as he trailed behind him. 

\---

They didn’t watch that sunset, so much as they…

“ _ Fuck… _ ” Keith groaned, his fingers pressing under Lance’s thigh, pushing his knee up. Lance was gasping, fingers above him tugging on the grass underneath him. Yes, there was  _ grass _ on this planet. It was incredible, really. They had hurriedly spread their jackets out to at least protect Lance’s ass, which was bare as he had kicked them off as soon as Keith started grabbing at his thigh. It had  _ started _ as a lovely sunset viewing…

“ _ Keith _ we don’t even have-  _ fuck- _ ” Lance groaned, staring at Keith as he moved over him, still pushing his knee up, pressed tight against him. “There’s lube in my lion if you just let me-  _ g-god _ -” Lance trembled, Keith’s fingers wrapping their cocks together. He had his jeans halfway down his thighs, hips rolling up to give them both a bit of friction. 

“We don’t need it.” Keith growled, nuzzling the side of Lance’s face, smirking when the other boy buried his hands in his hair, tugging gently. When he pulled back to look over Lance, he didn’t expect the flushed pout he was watching him with. “Really?” Keith asked, his smirk twisting up further. 

“I  _ want _ it.” Lance whined, and smiled finally when Keith rolled back up to his feet, tugging his jeans up quickly. He sat up a bit and relaxed his leg, which had been very close to cramping with how tight Keith had pushed it up, then nodded to him. “It’s in the emergency kit- okay, or just run off…” Lance mumbled, Keith already a few meters away, booking it awkwardly back toward Lances lion. 

Lance took a moment to enjoy the view of this planet again. The familiar feel, the fact that the wind had finally calmed down to a light breeze. It was a so warm here, too. His fingers gripped into the grass and he glanced down, smiling at the contrast of the spring green against his tanned fingertips. He still couldn’t get over how much he missed his home planet. Keith had seemed surprised that Lance wanted to go back- that was probably because Keith had dreamed of going up in space ever since Lance had known him, since their first year at the Garrison- before the  _ mullet- _

He was knocked from his thoughts by Keith’s hands, pushing him back down, making him groan with the gentle strength he moved him with. He was on his back again, and Keith didn’t waste any fucking time with foreplay apparently, one hand on Lance’s knee, the other pushing his jeans back down. Lance grabbed the lube from him, letting Keith bite needy kisses into his neck as he squirt some onto his fingers, taking a deep breath before he pressed them down, rubbing over himself. Keith was not fucking around, one hand tugging Lance’s ass apart, teeth on his throat leaving new bruises, his other hand tight in Lance’s hair as he held himself up on his elbow. He rolled his hips, cock rubbing against the crook of Lance’s thigh and his cock, teasing him horribly. 

“Stretching sucks…” Lance whined, gasping and thrusting his fingers as he tried to hurry up without hurting himself. Keith answered him with another bite, another long suck of his lips before he pulled back, eyes flicking up to Lance’s face. “Think I’m good.” Lance murmured, three fingers working nicely into himself. He did arch up a little when he pulled them out, hand shifting to Keith’s cock to grip him, thumb twirling over the head. Keith gasped at the surprise but arched his hips forward, tugging more at Lance’s ass. 

“Good boy.” Keith mumbled, sitting up again as he gripped at Lance’s hips. Lance was already red in the face, his cheeks burning from the tiny remark. He let Keith take control now, reveling in how his heavy hands felt on his hips, how the light burn overtook his body as Keith moved against him, filling him, stretching him. 

“ _ Keith- _ ” Lance gasped, his arms up above him, shirt pushed up awkwardly over his chest as he gripped tight into the grass, tugging bits out when the feeling was too much. When Keith was finally all the way in, Lance’s knees were up near his face, his hips up at an awkward angle, held up only by the hands on his waist, Keith’s fingers digging into him. 

Lance didn’t realize he could feel so damn  _ hot _ before- Keith was like a wildfire, hot, hard, and fast-paced. Everywhere Keith touched, it left a trail of prickling heat that made Lance moan, his face turning up as his spine arched, legs falling farther apart.

And before he knew it, the fire was dying, pleasure rolling over Lance’s body in waves as Keith started to roll his hips, slowly, perfectly, still holding Lance tight in his everlasting grip. Lance just gazed up at him with eyes half lidded, fists loosening from the grass as he watched his boyfriend move against him. 

“Good?” Keith asked, and the way he shifted his gaze from his own cock up toward Lance’s face, his hair a mess in front of his eyes, it made Lance’s heart pound, responding with a quick nod. Keith smiled to him and licked his lips, eyes flicking back down to watch himself move against Lance, his hips pulling back, almost all the way out of him, before he pressed back in. Lance’s moan game out in a loud gasp and a groan, Keith’s lips turning up into a smile as he proceeded to turn his boyfriend into a pile of goo. 

The moved like that for a while, slow, hard, so fucking deep. Lance’s hands had found his cock now, pumping himself in time with Keith’s thrusts. Once he started pressing his hips back, the movement’s sped up and the fire was back, Keith’s eyes burning into him as he leaned down, kissing down on Lance’s lips hard. 

“You’re really pretty like this.” Keith murmured, chuckling at the noise Lance responded with, almost a whine, more of a moan. “Don’t be  _ embarrassed _ .” Keith grumbled, smirk pressing into Lance’s lips again for more of the sloppy kiss. He pulled back again, watching Lance move his hips to meet his, watching him jerk himself, watching him come undone. “Here.” Keith mumbled, before he shifted them, and Lance was on his knees all too quickly. 

“ _ ¿Qué haces? _ ” Lance gasped, his hands catching himself in the grass as Keith flopped to his back, then propped himself up on one elbow. He kept his other hand on Lance’s hip, pushing him to get him to move. Lance caught the hint and started thrusting himself back, then up, the plopping back down again. His thighs felt like they were made of spaghetti and his hips were working expertly- he honestly didn’t even know he could move that way with a dick in his ass, he almost wanted to be cocky about it. “Getting lazy?” Lance asked, smirking a bit as he met Keith’s thrusting hips in the middle, staring down at his lover. 

“Getting cocky?” Keith asked, smiling as he pushed his hand over Lance’s cock, jerking him, faster than he probably needed to. “Let’s see who comes first then, huh?” Keith chucked, but Lance only sped his hips, leaning down a bit to brace his hands on the grass, his abdomen tightening, tingling down to his toes. . 

“¡Cállate! Cállate,  _ Cállate-  _ Cierra la _ boca- _ ” Lance gasped out, slipping down to his elbows as his body weakened, and he was getting closer and closer. Keith licked his lips, his other hand on Lance’s ass as he pumped him, hips rocking up perfectly, never faltering. 

“ _ So fucking cute _ …” Keith moaned, gazing down at his boyfriend, his nose buried in his hair as he had finally fallen to rest face-down on Keith’s chest. He absolutely loved when Lance let himself go, though he rarely ever did. Lance was always focused on Keith- it was nice when he managed to focus on himself for once. He felt Lance’s hips stutter, then his hand was wet, slicking up Lance’s cock as he continued to pump him through his orgasm. 

The shudder of his body was beautiful, and Keith couldn’t help but trace his hands across Lance’s arched back, hushing him with kisses to his hair as he came, his moans muffled in Keith’s chest. But when he didn’t slow, didn’t stop, Keith gripped his waist, his hand leaving his cock. 

“ _ Lléname… _ ” Lance gasped, his body jittering as he struggled to keep up, mostly just letting Keith fuck into him. They were both flushed red, but Keith was the flustered one now, staring down at Lance’s overworked body as he waited for Keith to come, used himself up so Keith could feel good. His gloved hands found Lance’s ass as he felt heat coiling, chewing his lip as he fucked up into his poor boyfriend. He tensed when he felt Lance’s fist between them, working his own cock again. 

“Jesus…” Keith breathed, listening to the difference in Lance’s moans, the way his eyebrows twisted up, his body jerking with how intense it felt, how hot it was, how his body burned, feeling  _ way _ too good. Lance’s face finally turned up to look to Keith, eyes half lidded as he came again. 

“I-It’s so much- _ Por favor _ -” Lance breathed out a moan, pressing their lips together roughly as he felt Keith’s hips stutter, then push as far up as they could, filling him. His hand flew from his cock, pushing into the grass as the sensation overwhelmed him, hot, sticky,  _ way _ too much. Keith pulled his ass apart as he came, then his hips dropped and his cock slipped out, leaving Lance to shudder on his chest. 

“Sorry- are you okay?” Keith breathed, pushing Lance’s hair from his forehead worriedly. Lance just nodded, smiling as he kissed him, messy and awkward, dazed almost. “No, really?” Keith asked, quietly as he sat them up. Lance nodded, panting a little as he pushed his face into the crook of Keith’s neck. 

“Si, ‘m okay…” Lance sighed, slumping against Keith with a sigh. Keith just stared down at him and stroked over his back, making sure the smile never left his lips. “Good?” Lance asked, peeking up at Keith again, who nodded quickly, going over the fact in his head that he had  _ actually _ come inside of Lance. 

“You’re a damn freak.” Keith chuckled, and Lance smiled, wiggling his hips a little. 

“I came twice. Bet you can’t beat that.” Lance teased, tracing exhausted circles with his finger over Keith’s chest. 

“Oh my god, it’s not a competition.” Keith sighed, crossing his legs to pull Lance into his lap better. He was still fucking taller than him, even like this. 

“Chicken?” Lance asked, and Keith grumbled, stuffing his face into Lance’s neck. 

“Shut up.” 

“Make me?” 

\---

When they finally made it back to the Blue Lion, Allura had called them about twenty damn times, and Keith groaned as he hit the call button. It put the amount of fear into them that Lance would get when he had three missed calls from his mom and a text from his dad, back on earth. 

“I hope nothing bad happened…” Lance murmured, shifting back in his seat, without his jacket on as it was… rather messy. They waited, and Allura finally picked up, sweat on her brow as she eyed them. 

“Shiro- It’s Shiro- He’s here!” Allura cried, and Keith felt the blood drain from his body, limbs going cold. Her words were like a punch to his gut, gripping his stomach. She stepped to the side, and Keith’s body dropped to the seat as they both stared, stared at  Shiro’s body in a healing pod. His Galra arm was gone. His face had new scars. 

“What the fuck? What the fuck?” Lance breathed, kicking Blue to life as he pressed forward on the controls, his whole body cold. “He okay- Is he okay?” Lance asked, and Keith gripped his jeans, unable to speak, move, anything. His mind was blank, staring at Shiro in the pod. 

“He’s fine but- We don’t know how he got here. He was just… he was just  _ in _ the Black Lion. Pidge went to go see if Keith was there…. But he’s with you. Good- Get back here as soon as you can. He’ll need all the support we can give him.” Allura sighed, smiling softly at him before she ended the connection. Lance peeked over at Keith, who was tense, but suddenly, his body softened, hands catching his head as it dropped. 

“He’s okay- Lance- He’s really okay.” 

“I told you we’d find him.” 

“Well technically-  _ He _ found  _ us _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¿Qué haces? = What are you doing?   
> ¡Cállate! = Shut up!  
> Cierra la boca = shut your mouth   
> Lléname =Fill me up
> 
> i suck and didnt edit this chapter much bc i ran out of time but wanted to put it up ehehehe sorrey


	5. Homecomings and confessions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dad's back and everyone's happy thank GOD

Lance couldn’t park his lion fast enough. He practically slammed into the ground as they landed, both of them rushing to their feet before they hopped from its mouth. Pidge, bless her soul, was waiting for them, bouncing on her toes as she waited. She had a huge grin plastered to her face, grabbing Lance and Keith’s hands as they rushed to her. 

“Where is he?” Keith gasped, pushing past her before she turned on her heel and rushed towards the healing pods. Lance was rushing behind them, trying to control his breathing- he felt like he was going to have a fucking anxiety attack. 

As soon as they were through the doors to the medical bay, Keith skidded to a stop, fists gripped tight. Pidge moved past them, back to her computer and monitors she had hooked up to Shiro’s pod. They were tracking everything down to the flicker of his eyelids, watching all his vitals. Allura was leaned up against a pod opposite Shiro’s, her fist pressed to her lips as she watched him- she didn’t even turn to greet Keith and Lance. Coran, however, was all over them. He rushed to them and shook Lance by the shoulders, scolding him for running off like that- but he sounded a million miles away. When he moved toward Keith, he just turned away and moved closer to Shiro, pressing a hand to his pod. 

“How- How’s he doing…?” Keith asked quietly, to whomever would answer. Allura was the first to speak, her gaze never breaking from Shiro’s sleeping face. 

“He’s alive. That’s all we know. We’ve been trying to wake him… Pidge thinks he’s having… nightmares.” Allura sighed, then went back to chewing her fingernails nervously. Keith dropped his hand from the pod and backed off, crossing his arms over his chest, kneeling next to Pidge’s machines. 

“How so?” Keith asked, looking over all the monitors and their readings, but really had no fucking idea what they meant. Lance joined him, shaking hands hidden in his pockets as he leaned to look at the screens. 

“Well i mean, look at his heart rate? And his brain activity?” Pidge pointed stuff out, but neither of the two paladins really got anything out of it. 

“Oh.” Lance mumbled, then stood back up, looking over at Shiro’s face. He did seem tense, but otherwise? He was peaceful. A slight crease in his brow and a tweak of his lips every so often. Lance stepped toward him now, feeling tears prick his eyes as he looked up to him- up at the face of his leader,  _ their _ leader. “It’s good to have you back, buddy.” Lance sighed, smile invading the tensity of his lips. Pidge’s eyebrows rose as the heart monitor jumped a bit. 

“Uh, Lance? Keep talking to him.” Pidge told him, leaning to watch the monitor a bit closer. “He responded, I think.” She mumbled, more to herself than anyone else. 

“Shiro-” Allura moved now, heels clicking as she stepped forward, past Lance who stumbled to the side for her. “You need to wake up, please-” She choked, palms pressing to the pod, and Lance swallowed hard, watching tears roll down her cheeks. Her voice was strained almost, flickering on the edge of a breakdown. “We need our paladin back-” She sobbed, forehead dropping onto the pod. The room was still, eyes frozen on her. She rarely showed this amount of weakness, at least not in front of  _ them _ . “My paladin…” She breathed, and the monitor jumped, going wild as she spoke, and Keith’s eyes widened-

So did Shiro’s. 

As the pod walls opened, Allura stumbled forward- right into a certain paladin’s arms- well, arm. She gasped, eyes wide as she felt a hand around her back, trying desperately to hold her up, but with only one arm, he could barely hold her. She fumbled a bit, tears still dropping from her cheeks as she got her footing, and Shiro braced his arm around her, gripping her tight. Lance was smiling, on the verge of laughing over how ridiculous it seemed-  _ All it took to wake him was a few meaningful words from his space crush? Then again, Lance would probably wake up from a coma just for a kiss from Keith- he basically did like two years ago when they fought Sendak… _

“I’m sorry for leaving you, like that.” Shiro’s voice was rough, really rough, almost like he’d been screaming for a whole year. He swallowed hard at the pain in his throat, but still managed a fucking  _ smile _ . A beaming smile, a crooked, toothy, almost cocky smile, that lightened his eyes and threatened to break his jaw. Allura stared up at him for a moment, her eyes wide as she took him in. “What?” Shiro asked as he watched her, but his smile never faded. Keith was on his feet now, but didn’t have the heart to break this up, even though all he wanted to do was smash his best friend into a hug. 

“Idiot!” She cried, but her smile matched his as she brought a fist down onto his shoulder, weak but with lots of meaning. “Idiot! You big, hulking idiot!” She gasped, pushing her face into his neck as she threw him into a hug. He laughed, he laughed, and the whole room melted. Keith was the first to step forward, followed by Lance, and Pidge who abandoned her laptop hastily as they all rushed to crash into him. 

Keith’s face found the perfect spot in Shiro’s armpit to be squished, with Lance pressed up behind him, his huge arms making their way around Shiro’s body. Pidge was a bit more forward, hopping up behind him and wringing his neck with her arms, latching to him like a tiny monkey. Coran stood with his arms crossed, waiting with a grin. He’d never seen Allura so happy as she was now, Shiro’s arm still tight around her as she clung to him for dear life. 

“Hunk? Where’s Hunk?” Lance murmured suddenly, glancing around for his friend. Pidge nodded her chin toward the door. 

“Wanted to make Shiro a welcome home meal- he’s been at it for hours, actually- he went to the space mall to get real human ingredients and he’s been in the kitchen ever since.” Pidge explained, smile on her face as she rested her chin on the top of Shiro’s head. 

“Man, you guys went all out, huh? It’s only been like, a week?” Shiro laughed, and the aura of the room changed. They backed off, all but Pidge, who stuck tight to his shoulders as she climbed up a bit higher. 

“Shiro it’s-” Allura started, but Keith finally spoke, but it wasn’t gentle or calming, it was a rush of pain and hurt, all pouring from him at once. 

“It’s been a fucking year, Shiro.” Keith’s voice shook, his fists tight to his sides. “You’ve been missing that long, we couldn’t find you, we looked everywhere-” Keith’s voice cut off, and Lance’s hands clenched in his pockets. Shiro stared down to him, then to Allura, who’s had covered her mouth now- the tears still didn’t stop. 

“I… Keith I had no idea, I would never have stayed so long…” Shiro’s eyes were wide and confused, eyebrows upturned as he looked back at Keith, who seemed just as confused as Shiro was. 

“Stayed? What do you mean? You had a choice? Where the hell did you go, Shiro?” Keith cried, throwing his hands up for a moment before they went back to tight fitsts by his sides. Lance was close behind him but didn’t say a word- he knew there was nothing he could say without making it worse for everyone. 

“My lion it- it offered me a way to connect with it- to push Zarkon out completely…” Shiro trailed off, suddenly feeling absolutely  _ horrible _ . “I swear it was only a week- it was- I don’t know where I went, it was like… I don’t know, I’m so sorry-” Shiro was cut off, Keith’s fist connecting beautifully with his jaw. Lance grabbed him back fast, pulling his boyfriend away as he strained to get another swing at him. Shiro gripped his jaw, staring down at the floor. “I deserved that, I know. But- I’m here now, okay? I’ll never leave you like that again.” Shiro spoke, directly to Keith who was losing steam, falling into heaving breathing and tears. Lance was still gripping his shirt, his eyes glued to the floor. He was having a hard time believing it all. 

“You fucking- Fucking better not.” Keith sighed, rubbing his face before he turned, nodding his head to Lance to follow. Lance’s eyes flicked nervously to Shiro before he followed, hands in his pockets again as they walked out of the room together. Pidge was still set atop Shiro’s shoulders, so she looked down at him, grin on her face. 

“I’m totally going to make you a new arm.” She said, and Shiro quirked a smile at her, watching the gears turn in her evil little mind. 

“No funny business.” He reminded her, and she laughed, hugging his head tight. 

“I’ll make it play bad showtunes. 

“You will do  _ no such thing _ .” 

  
  


\---

  
  


Lance was running after Keith now, ducking into his bedroom after him. Keith immediately turned with a gasp, and Lance’s fist hit the button to close the door just as Keith rushed him, clattering into Lance’s arms. He slammed back into the door with a grunt, but wrapped his arms tight around Keith’s waist. 

“I’m always  _ fucking _ crying…” Keith gasped, hands covering his face as he cried, letting tears fall down his cheeks and out around his palms. Lance shook his head and thumbed at the small of his back. “ _ I can’t fucking believe him… _ ” Keith cried, hands gripping to fists as his face fell forward, pressing into Lance’s shoulder. 

“He didn’t mean it, Keith, you  _ know _ he didn’t.” Lance assured him, lifting him to move him toward the chair, sitting him down carefully. “He never would have left us for that long on purpose.” Lance sighed, getting on his knees in front of him. Keith shook his head, elbows on his knees now as he tried to shake his emotions, focusing on his breathing. 

“He’s finally back and I’m  _ mad _ at him.” Keith mumbled, and Lance shook his head again, reaching to tug Keith’s wrists gently, making him drop his hands. Keith finally looked at him, at the worry on Lance’s face, the worry he felt that Keith would never be able to forgive Shiro. 

“Are you mad at him? Or the situation?” Lance murmured, balling his sleeve up to dry Keith’s cheeks. Keith closed his eyes for a second, took a breath, then opened them again. 

“Situation.” Keith croaked, and Lance smiled softly, nodding to him now. “Not shiro. I missed him.” Keith murmured, sniffling now. 

“See- You gotta stop and breathe sometimes, you know. You’re always such a fucking firecracker.” Lance chuckled, shifting up to hug around Keith’s waist, pushing a kiss to his lips. Keith sighed, trying to let all the anger and hurt flow away, and he found that the tighter he gripped to Lance, the more relaxed he became- so he kissed him deeply and didn’t let go for anything, not even when Lance tried to pull back. 

They just kissed like that, nothing hot or sexual, just kissing, gripping hands and deep sighs, a long release of tension for both of them- and by the time they both pulled back, hair a mess and lips red and smiling, Keith felt like he was ready to face Shiro. 

“I should talk to him. After Hunk’s dinner.” Keith croaked, flopping back into his chair. 

“Talk, not yell.” Lance reminded him, chuckling as he pressed a kiss to his temple. 

“I know.” He mumbled, fidgeting with his hands nervously.

“I  _ know _ you know.”

\---

Talking to Shiro again was surprisingly easy. Keith worried that it would be like talking to a stranger- but Shiro hadn’t changed a bit, not since he left. Well, physically he had changed. His arm was gone, looking almost as if it had never been there in the first place. He just had scarring all across the stump that ran just below his shoulder. Keith somehow managed not to stare. 

They sat for what felt like hours, and Shiro shared all of what he had done in wherever he had been- he just kept calling it the astral plane. Keith insisted that that was lame and it had to have a real name, then picked on Shiro for not even bothering to ask the Black Lion where the hell he was. 

“So that must have been why I couldn’t communicate with her.” Keith sighed, leaning back into the couch. Shiro nodded and rubbed his stump, mostly just shocked that it was gone. “Where did that go? Did you lose it there?” Keith asked, and Shiro shrugged, wiggling it a little. 

“Honestly, my memory is spotty at best- I don’t know if I lost it, maybe the Black Lion… I dunno… zapped it away?” Shiro suggested, and Keith laughed at that, then glanced down to Pidge, who hadn’t left Shiro’s feet. She was messing with her laptop, programming some stuff for Shiro’s new arm. She really was dead set on creating one for him. At dinner, Hunk had even offered to help with the mechanics of it, seeming a little more than excited to create something like that- the last time he’d had the chance was back on earth. 

“Well, good think you have me and Hunk to make you a new one. Keith and Lance would be useless at this.” Pidge snickered, earning a glare from the red paladin. 

“Oh god, I get to pilot Red again!” Keith sighed, throwing his hands over his eyes as he flopped back onto the cushions. Shiro smiled and bumped his leg, chuckling at him. 

“Oh yeah- How was Black? You didn’t do anything gross in there, did you?” Shiro teased, and Keith grew bright fucking red, eyes widening behind his hands. “Like you didn’t wipe your snots all over my dash, right?” Shiro continued, and Keith let out a laugh, albeit a little nervous. 

“Hah, no, no snots.” Keith sputtered, and Pidge shot him a look of confusion before going back to her programing. She was definitely better at picking up on mood changes than Shiro, because the other paladin didn’t even change pace. 

“Good, I leave a box of tissues in there specifically for that reason.” Shiro told him, tucking his arm behind his head as he glanced over at Keith. Keith quickly took a chance to change the conversation topic, sitting straight up in his seat. 

“Allura.” Keith hissed, squinting at Shiro, who turned a gross shade of red at the name. “You like her. Ask her out. Now.” Keith demanded, and Shiro furrowed his brows, glancing down at Pidge, whose fingers had stopped on her keyboard so she could eavesdrop more efficiently. 

“Keith- Where is that coming from?” Shiro hissed, glancing around the room now- it was just the three of them. Hunk was too tired from all the crying he had done and Coran and Allura were scanning the Black Lion for anything strange. Lance was, well, in his room, waiting for Keith. He’d probably fallen asleep by now. 

“Your note- Lance ended up finding it and giving it to me for my eighteenth- you missed that, by the way. It was uneventful-” Keith stopped short, remembering his eighteenth birthday as the day he and Lance got together, due to Shiro’s note- 

“Lance did, huh?” Shiro smirked, shooting Keith a look. Pidge had completely abandoned her laptop at this point, barely turning her head so she could peek up at Keith. Keith shook his head, reeling back into the cushions. 

“Yeah I mean- He found it- G-gave it to me, yanno. Whatever,  _ that’s _ not important, what’s  _ important _ is _ you like Allura _ and need to tell her how you feel.” Keith sputtered, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried his very best to melt into the couch cushions. 

“Oh. My. God.” Pidge gasped, jumping to her feet. “How long! How long?!” Pidge screeched, pointing to Keith, then toward the hall to their rooms, then back to Keith. “How long!?” Keith threw his hands up, eyes wide. 

“What are you talking about, Pidge?!” Keith squeaked, and She glared at him. 

“You and Lance.” She demanded, her finger poking right into his hands. 

“We’re not!” “Keith gasped, pushing her away. Shiro just stared, chuckling to himself at what he’d started. Pidge was not believing it. He didn’t want her to know- didn’t want anyone to know- they’d kept it a secret this long. “He rejected me!” Keith hissed, glancing toward their rooms, then back at Pidge. 

“But… You’re together so often… I bet Hunk three chocolate bars that you were…” She sighed, frown on her face growing. “I’m gonna go talk to him!” Pidge grumbled, grabbing her laptop and slamming it shut. Keith grabbed her hand and turned her around, shaking his head furiously. 

“No! I- I don’t want him to know I told… Imagine how upset he’d be, he’d feel so bad…” Keith tried, and Pidge sighed, slipping back down onto the floor between Shiro’s legs. 

“Fine…” Pidge mumbled, hunching up her knees to her chin. “I’m sorry he rejected you though… You’re taking it well.” Pidge nodded it him, and Keith smiled nervously, flopping back down to the cushions again. 

“Yeah. You two were really close earlier.” Shiro kept prodding, but Keith turned it right around again. 

“When are you going to tell her? She’s cried over you! You have to!” Keith cried, and Shiro blushed, looking down at his knees. 

“She… cried?” Shiro murmured, and Pidge nodded, sighing and dropping her head in her hands. 

“Oh my god, don’t get me started. She talks about you all the time! She only talks to me, she says girls keep the best secrets. I think that’s- well it’s true on this ship, because you all suck.” Pidge snickered, but Shiro kept blushing, staring down at his knees with wide eyes. 

“You- You really think I should? Like now?” Shiro asked, eyes shifting over to Keith. He looked ready to jump out of his skin, and when Keith nodded, Shiro hopped up and hurdled the seat, rushing toward his lion’s hangar. 

\---

_ Oh god, here we go, here we go. Not twenty-four hours back on this plane of existence and I’m already hurdling toward my doom. What if she says no? What the hell do I do? I’d understand if she said no because we have a kind of business-like relationship but...  What if she thinks it’s creepy? What if she’s not into dating inter-specially? Inter… are we a different species? God, does she have alien genitals? Why am I thinking about that? Shiro, don’t fucking think about her genitals-  _

 

“Shiro?” Allura’s voice knocked Shiro from his thoughts, and he was bright red all over again, panting in the doorway to his hangar. Allura and Coran were giving him weird looks, so he just smiled wide and looked right at Allura. 

“Uh, a word? Alone?” Shiro asked, and he had never heard his voice sound so uneven. His hand was sweating. _ Fuck, fuck. _

“Uh, sure?” Allura furrowed her brow and handed off whatever machine she had been holding to Coran, who opened his mouth to speak but then shut it. Allura followed Shiro out, down the hall a bit, until he stopped and whipped around, scaring Allura a bit with how fast he turned, staring right at her. 

“I like you!” He breathed out, and she looked at him like he had five heads. 

“Yes, um, I enjoy your company too, and I’m so very glad to have you back!” Allura said with a smile, albeit a bit nervous. Shiro fidgeted with his hair, tugging at the white strands that had gotten rather long. “You should probably start tieing that up- it’ll get in the way of your eyes- 

“I like  _ like _ you!” Shiro blurted out, and Allura’s smile fell, replaced with a blush. “A lot. Like you  _ very much _ . For a while.” Shiro sputtered, and Allura gripped her fists by her sides, her cheeks growing redder by the second. 

“Are you trying to ask me out? Couldn’t you just be forward about it?” Allura asked, sounding almost annoyed. “I woke you up, for goodness sake! The least you could do- is take me on a  _ date- _ or something…” Allura trailed off, crossing her arms over her chest. Shiro was wide eyed, his hand falling from the nervous spot it had been gripping into his shirt. 

“Wait- Really? Would you go on a date with me?” Shiro asked, and Allura nodded, her eyes not meeting his. “You don’t think it’ll get in the way of missions or anything…?” Shiro asked, and Allura smiled, shaking her head. 

“Not if you don’t let it.” She sighed, shifting a bit on her feet. Shiro nodded, leaning back now to try and look cool again, but the charade was totally lost on Allura, who was laughing at him now. “You’re such a silly boy. Here you are, asking a ten thousand and twenty five year old woman out on a date, and you’re tripping all over yourself! Get it together- I’d expect better from my black paladin…” Allura teased, raising a brow at him as he turned red again. 

“Y-Yes, princess. Sorry.” Shiro sputtered, taking a brave step closer to her. “I’m also sorry, for making you cry.” Shiro murmured, and Allura’s eyes widened, glancing up to him. “While I was gone. I never meant to be gone for so long. I never meant to make anyone upset- especially not you, princess.” Shiro sighed, his hand coming up to brush a strand of Allura’s hair back behind her ear. She went pink at the touch, and Shiro found his hand frozen there, staring down at her, as she stared up at him. 

_ It was really fucking gross _ , if Keith said so himself. 

And he did say so, crouched around the corner of the hall, Lance right next to him as the spied on the two of them. Lance made a gagging gesture with his mouth and Keith tried not to laugh, peeking carefully around the corner. 

Shiro dropped his hand, gripping it tight by his side as he took a step back. Allura stepped toward him though, shaking her head. 

“Absolutely not! Apparently you could disappear at any moment- so you are going to kiss me, right now!” Allura demanded, but her hands were tight by her sides, the flush left by Shiro’s touch still stuck on her cheeks. Lance wanted to cheer her on, but he kept himself quiet as he watched Shiro lean down, pushing their lips together awkwardly. 

Before he could pull away, Allura was gripping his face, tugging him down for more. His hand fumbled a moment, and Keith snickered, watching it finally find her waist- he almost fucking hover-handed her, that son of a  _ quiznack _ . 

“You’re  _ never _ to do something like that again-” Allura gasped as he pulled back, rushing it out in one breath. Her eyes were squeezed tight, obviously trying to push her tears back, but it wasn’t working. “ _ Not _ without telling me first!” She finished, pushing her face into his chest. Shiro looked around all nervous, then wrapped his arm around her waist, eyebrows furrowing as he contemplated what to do. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Shiro murmured, and Allura sighed, her hands finding his shoulders before she pushed away carefully, giving him a smile. 

“I shouldn’t get so upset. I know you didn’t mean it. Did you… learn anything useful?” She asked, rubbing her arm as she took another few steps back, a bit embarrassed at her outburst. Her pink lipgloss was all over Shiro’s lips, but she didn’t say anything, the silly look of it making her smile. 

“I-I can tell you about it, if you want? Come get some uh… tea? With me?” Shiro asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Allura nodded and turned, nodding down the hall. 

“Just- let me tell Coran that we’re off.” She told him. Shiro nodded and followed her, sticking a little more close behind than he normally would. Lance and Keith flopped back from the corner of the hall, quietly laughing to themselves. 

“Oh man, we’re gonna have to give him the rest of the condoms we have, huh?” Lance snickered, and Keith nodded, then glanced over at Lance, evil smirk on his lips. 

“I dunno he’s probably gonna need a… bigger size. Maybe something that’s not extra small.” Keith teased, and Lance glared at him, just missing his shoulder with his fist as Keith got up, rushing away down the hall. 

“I’m not extra small! Shut up! Take it back!” Lance squawked, hopping up to run after him. 

“Prove it!” Keith laughed, skidding to a stop in front of their room to open the door, and Lance was right behind. 

“Oh, I fucking  _ will _ .” 

“ _ Oh, will you now _ ?”

 

\---

  
  


“Fuck,  _ fuck _ , okay!” Keith gasped, pushing Lance’s fingers away after the ungodly amount of teasing and the overly annoying smirks Lance had been giving him. “It was a joke, you son of a-” Keith was cut off, Lance’s fingers pressing remarkably deep into him as he sat on his lap. He bracketed Lance’s thighs with his knees, his hands gripping tight into Lance’s shoulders, tearing at his jacket. Lance just smirked at him, kissing at his lower lip every few moments, never forgetting to move his fingers just right. 

“You gonna pick on my dick ever again?” Lance asked, and Keith grumbled, stuffing his face into Lance’s hair. He shifted his hips down, but Lance was pulling his fingers away again, and Keith shoved him back, knocking them both down awkwardly. 

“I’m gonna make a deal with you.” Keith grumbled, shifting awkwardly to sit back up. Lance cocked his brow as his boyfriend shifted and jerked his jeans off for him, then his boxers, whipping them both to the other side of the room. “Whoever cums first, loses. Loser, meaning you, gets to endure  _ all _ the bad jokes about their dick.” Keith crossed his arms, rolling his hips back against Lance’s growing erection. 

“Fucking deal.” Lance chuckled, reaching down to grab Keith’s thighs. “I’m not gonna lose, by the way-” Keith pushed his hands away though, shaking his head. 

“No hands, that’s cheating! How do I know you won’t try and like, jack me off?” Keith grumbled, and Lance blushed, eyes darting away. 

“Tie me.” He rushed out, and Keith’s eyebrows flew up, arms still crossed. He felt heat prickle his cheeks, but Lance was worse, his cheeks bright fucking red up to his ears. Keith glanced around, then grabbed for a discarded ace bandage, holding a hand out for Lance’s hands. “Wait, really?” Lance asked, acting like it was one of the crazier things they’d done in the bedroom. 

“Yeah- it’s a good idea.” Keith mumbled, wrapping his wrists rather loosely, but just enough to keep them together. He leaned over Lance, tying them as best as he could to one of the metal hooks over their bed. When he sat back, he looked over his boyfriend again, chewing his lip. “You sure seem to be enjoying it already.” Keith teased, a smirk threatening his cocky smile. Lance chewed his lip, pushing his hips up a bit. 

“Quit messing around.” Lance grumbled, but the small smile on his lips gave him away. “First to come, loses. And it  _ ain’t _ gonna be me.” Lance assured him again, but Keith just smirked, raising his hips up. Lance held his break as Keith slid down on him, already having used more than enough lube while he was stretching him. Keith moaned the whole way down, never breaking eye contact with Lance- he knew how much that fucked with him. He practically cried out when Lance jolted his hips, snapping them up without warning. 

“Fucker-” Keith gasped, tensing a little as he arched back, breathing going heaving for a second. He was sitting on Lance’s hips now, his own hips swaying lazily. Lance did it again, smirk growing on his lips- he knew Keith was stretched enough, but the surprise is what got him, sending him into a fit of surprised moans as Lance hammered his hips up, one foot coming up to brace against the bed. Keith almost lost himself, splaying his hand on Lance’s chest, moaning down at him as his cock bounced- He snapped out of it, lifting his hips up quickly “ _ Fuck _ you- no-  _ I’m _ winning this-  _ Fuck- _ ” Keith groaned, grabbing Lance’s hips to push them down and hold them. 

“ _ Suuure _ you are, babe-  _ ahhh _ fuck-” Lance gasped, brows furrowing as Keith circled his hips, then leaned forward, bringing them up, then back down, slowly, ever so fucking slowly, letting Lance writhe under him. Keith’s smirk was returning, because now  _ he _ was controlling everything, and Lance had no fucking chance at winning. Keith sighed and leaned down, one hand firmly on Lance’s hip, the other gripping the hair at the top of his head. 

“Lance…” Keith moaned, lips pressed right against his cheek, moans coming out in gasps as he rocked his hips sweetly. “You’re doing so good-” Keith gasped, and Lance groaned, his hips threatening to jerk up, body arching. 

“ _ Fuck you, Keith- Fuck you- _ ” Lance gasped, cheeks growing hotter, the tug on his wrists becoming much more evident. Keith was smirking to himself, tugging lightly on Lance’s hair as he let out one overly long, drawn out moan, hips speeding up just so. 

“You feel so good-” Keith gasped, and Lance’s body jerked again, his moans coming out in gasps, Keith’s hips working faster, the praises rising from his lips becoming more exaggerated- things he’d never  _ really _ say, except for  _ right now _ , trying to get Lance off as fast and hard as possible. “You feel so good inside me- so fucking  _ perfect _ ,  _ Lance… _ ” Keith gasped, so focused on making Lance feel good, he didn’t notice how much he’d dripped onto Lance’s abdomen, precome dripping from the tip of his cock. 

“Fuck off,  _ Keith _ don’t  _ do that _ -” Lance gasped, his fingers tightening in the ace bandage, tugging at it uselessly, his hips jerking every time Keith came down on him. Keith’s moans got louder, and that’s when Lance realized he was going to fucking lose this battle, because  _ Keith _ was in control, and Keith  _ always _ got what he want. “Oh god, m’gonna fuckin-  _ Keith _ !” Lance groaned, head falling back into the blankets as his hips stuttered, so close to the edge that it almost hurt. 

“You gonna come for me?” Keith asked, pulling back, kissing at Lance’s nose, watching the poor man under him writhe, muscles flexing against the elastic of the bandage. “ _ My sharpshooter _ ?” Keith crooned, and  _ almost _ fucking laughed when Lance came at that. “Oh, man..” Keith groaned, and he arched forward, fucking his boyfriend through his orgasm, his smirk never faltering. 

“ _ Shhhhhit _ …” Lance hissed, eyes squeezed tight as his body fell back into the blankets, thighs shivering a bit from the intensity of it. He opened his eyes to Keith’s shit eating smirk, shaking his head quickly. “Don’t.  _ Fucking _ . Say.  _ Anything _ .” Lance growled, tugging at the ace bandage again. Keith smirked and leaned back, one hand splayed over Lance’s tummy, the other coming up to his own cock. He lifted off of Lance, shuddering a bit. “Untie me- let me do it-” Lance grunted, but Keith just stroked himself, arching his back to better press his fingers inside, hooking them slightly. Keith closed his eyes, chewing his cheek as he worked himself, trying to keep quiet. 

“Lance…” Keith moaned out, his head falling, long hair flopping over his closed eyes as he worked himself. His gasps were quiet, but Lance’s name was very fucking evident, coming on ever single gasp and moan that Keith let out as he came. Lance tore at the bandage, hands finally coming to grab Keith’s hips tight, making the other man gasp. Keith let Lance replace his fingers, pressing into him perfectly, just how he knew he liked. He also let Lance stroke him, his hands now balled up in Lance’s t-shirt sleeves, his lips pressed into his boyfriend's neck. “Fuck me, Lance…” Keith gasped, and Lance rolled his eyes, fingers working until the other boy came. “So good, so good, so good-” Keith babbled, and Lance kissed his cheek, nuzzling into him as he worked him through it. 

“Yeah, yeah…” Lance mumbled, and Keith tilted his head up to kiss his chin, still panting, hips still rocking slightly, even after Lance’s hands retreated from him. "You win." 

“Can we do it again? Rematch?” Keith asked, a bit of a slur in the way he spoke. “I wanna lose this time.” Keith teased, smirk on his tired lips. 

 

_ Keith Kogane is going to be the fucking death of me.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally the smut youve all been waiting for   
> ps sorry my updates are weirdly placed lol i work


	6. Build-A-Boy Workshop.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four paladins with nothing better to do and minimal schooling build Rome in a day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm apologizing for the shitty fucking Spanish right now because i suck at this im sorry translations are at the end notes

“Do you really think he needs all these…?” Keith asked, brow furrowing at the sheer amount of condoms they were currently leaving at the entrance to Shiro’s room. Lance just gave Keith a knowing smirk, then got to his feet, dusting his knees off. 

“This is like, just barely enough.” Lance explained, waggling his brow as they backed away, staring at the ten boxes he had stacked perfectly in front of the door. “Working part time at my dad’s grocery store did me good on presentation value.” Lance said proudly, shooting Keith a blinding smile before he turned on his heel down the hall. Keith just rolled his eyes and followed after him, arms crossed over his chest as he kept his distance. 

He always found himself walking several paces behind Lance whenever they were out in the castle. They had been very careful for so long to keep their distance, keep up the facade they they indeed were  _ not _ together. The lie he’d told Pidge and Shiro had done good to deter anyone from assuming anything anymore, and it made things easier all around. 

Why he’d wanted to keep things between them a secret had always been because it was best for the team, because it could cause drama, because Keith had to focus on leading them. But now that he wasn’t the leader anymore, now that Shiro was back- albeit with one less limb- he didn’t have to worry about that stuff. He might be able to tell them now… maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal? He was still just, anxious about it. It would probably just be easier keep up the charade, but he didn’t really know how much longer Lance could keep his trap shut about it. He’d kept it up for almost a year already-

“Oh god.” Keith stopped suddenly, eyes going wide. Lance turned back to look at him, eyes concerned now. Keith was quiet for a second before he glanced around, making sure no one could hear them. “Anniversary!” He hissed, and Lance blushed, eyes going wide. Keith rushed to him to cover his mouth, catching the screech that came out. Lance stared at Keith, and Keith stared at Lance, both of them stiff for a second. 

“It’s-” Lance tugged Keith’s hands away, then jerked him back, toward the side of the hall. “It’s been almost a year! And it’ll be your birthday soon!” Lance cried, then backed away, hands in his hair as he scrambled away, rushing off down the hall. “ ¡Oh Dios mío! Tengo que conseguir una tarta! Un regalo, también!” Lance’s voice echoed through the halls,  “¿Que voy a hacer?” Keith smiled after him, picking at his fingertips as he started off after him. 

He hadn’t really come to understand any of what Lance ever said when he got like that, but he thought it was cute as hell, and sexy when he managed to slip it into their more intimate activities. He hated it though, when Lance was mad at him and went off on him like that, and Keith couldn’t say anything back because he couldn’t understand it. Maybe he’d have to learn some- how would he do that in the middle of space? There were like a billion more languages he should probably learn to help him be a better paladin, but learning Lance’s native tongue felt… right. Maybe he could surprise him for his birthday? 

“Keith!” Pidge called, and Keith snapped from his thoughts to look at her, smiling when he saw Hunk trying to delicately place some metal plates onto what looked like a cast of an arm? It was a pretty damn beefy arm… Keith wandered over, brows furrowed. “We’re making Shiro’s arm! Any design suggestions? We don’t want him to see it till it’s done, and you’re like, his  _ brother, _ basically. So you gotta tell us what he’d like.” Pidge asked, smiling proudly up at him as Keith traced his fingers over the metal, then over some of the delicate wires. 

“Is it already waterproof?” Keith asked, and Pidge frowned, glasses pure glare as she looked at him. 

“Do you take me for a fool, Kogane?” Pidge huffed, going back to clicking away at some more of the programming. Keith felt an arm around his shoulder, then shoved it off, glaring over at Lance as he put his hands up defensively. 

“Make the hand vibrate. With different settings.” Lance suggested, wiggling his brows over at Hunk, who just glared up at him, then went back connecting wires and testing their function. Pidge just looked at him for a second in disbelief, then looked back down, typing away. 

“Not a bad idea but- why?” Pidge asked, trying to hold back her laughter. Lance plopped down next to her, slinging an arm over her shoulder as he explained himself. 

“Well the poor guy is with Allura now and, the Black Paladin can’t have much time to, yanno, get down and dirty-” Keith cut him off, clamping his hands over Lance’s lips. 

“Keith, I’m literally seventeen, I can handle-” Keith cut her off as well, pushing his hands over her lips. 

“No! None of this! How about we give it super strength or something, huh?” Keith suggested, exasperated as he drew his hands back and sighed, rubbing his nose. “Lance, inappropriate. Pidge- Just... program normal things. Please.” Keith grumbled, and Pidge stuck her tongue out at him, then added ‘vibrating hand’ to her list. 

“So how about making it like, shoot a laser?” Lance asked, a bit bored with normal suggestions. Hunk nodded at that one and pushed his mask down, starting to weld some of the pieces together. “And you gotta make it heat up like his Galra one did. And glow.” Lance added, and Pidge groaned, clicking away before she took a break, cracking her knuckles. 

“I wish I knew how to make it glow... Maybe we can get more info on some Galra tech? Or maybe Coran can help?” Pidge asked, and Keith shrugged, sitting up on the top of the couch. 

“I’m sure he would. Can you get it to uh…” Keith paused before he spoke again, a slight flush on his cheeks. “Can it flex, like a real arm?” Keith asked, and Lance flicked his eyes to look over Keith’s expression. 

“Yeah. Might be good for uh. Intimidation.” Lance added, leaning forward a little to draw his fingers over the bicep. Pidge shrugged, then nodded for Hunk to back off. 

“Let me see, uh…” She trailed off, tapping away for a second as she ran it through a test of sorts, making all the fingers move, then it flexed, bicep tensing to show the muscular functions. Lance watched Keith’s face which had actually reddened, then got to his feet, hopping over the back of the couch. 

“Damn robot has better flex than I do!” Lance grumbled, stomping toward the training room. Keith watched him go, wondering why the hell Lance was acting like such a baby over a metal arm. He waited a couple minutes before he got to his feet. 

“Give it a cool tattoo. He likes dragons and puppies.” Keith suggested before he wandered off, arms crossed as he headed toward the training room. He looked both ways before he opened the door, then locked it behind him. Sure enough, Lance was trying his best to deadlift a weight that was much too big for him. Keith smirked and leaned against the door, watching him struggle for a moment. 

Lance growled and kicked at it, before he tore his shirt over his head and tossed it away. Keith chewed his thumb, a small smile over his lips as he watched his boyfriend bend down and try again, as if removing his shirt would help at all. He growled when it didn’t work, and he just stared down at it, fists on his hips. Keith took a moment to study him, and how Lance’s body had  _ really _ changed. He didn’t really get many moments like this, to really look at him. He was always too worried about being caught. But the door was locked behind them, now. 

Lance’s body had been… well, thin and rather… noodly, before. Before they became paladins and worked out hardcore almost every day. Sure, he couldn’t deadlift two hundred and fifty pounds just yet, but he was…  _ toned _ . The scars over his torso only highlighted how much shit they had really been through, and the dark hair just above the line of his jeans made Keith’s abdomen coil. 

He chewed his thumb and sighed, eyes raking over Lance’s body as he bent down to try again. He had the right form this time, and he seemed a little more clear headed… He finally rose to his feet and snapped it up near his chin, but ended up dropping it, stepping back with a growl. Keith heard a noise rise from his own throat and blushed, meeting  Lance’s eyes as he head heard the noise too. 

“Hey, take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Lance teased, pushing sweat from his forehead as he stepped toward Keith, who just pressed up against the door. Lance’s body was fucking shimmering, he felt like he was looking at a goddamn Sports Illustrated trifold come to life.  _ How fucking cheesy _ . 

“Sorry.” Keith choked out, and Lance smirked, stopping just a few inches from him. His hands were on his hips, and Keith’s hand reached out, fingertips tracing down the line of his abs gently. Lance chuckled, and of course that made everything tense, and Keith blushed, hand drawing back to push his own hair back into a ponytail. Even  _ Keith _ wasn’t this toned, at least he didn’t think so. “When did you get so… this?” Keith asked, chewing his lips as Lance studied his face, a smirk growing over his own. 

“Well intense workouts and eating nothing but food goo will do that to a guy.” Lance laughed, turning to grab a towel off the rack. “You’re  _ way _ into muscles, aren’t you?” Lance asked, shooting Keith a smile as he wiped his forehead, then tossed it over his shoulder. Keith shrugged and tried to act his way out of it. 

“I mean, they’re cool, yeah. I still don’t look like that, not even after all this time.” Keith huffed, the divot of Lance’s hips really fucking with his ability to form a sentence. “Not that I’m jealous or anything. You have like, no ass, so.” Keith teased, and Lance smirked, pulling his jeans down slightly with his thumb. 

“Yeah? Do I need to do more squats, Keith?” Lance asked, and smirked at the way Keith’s eyes flew right down to his ass and stayed stuck there until he fixed his pants. 

“Yeah, more squats. More of those.” Keith sputtered, and Lance sighed, tossing the towel away before he stepped to Keith again, closer this time, bracing his arm against the wall next to his head, his other hand coming to tug at Keith’s hip. 

“Tell me how much you like it.” Lance murmured, his hips pressed forward against Keith’s, his head ducked down, lips just inches from Keith’s. Keith’s mouth opened to say something, but his mouth was dry, his eyes flicking to glance at the scar over Lance’s bicep. Had he always been so muscular? Was he flexing? His eyes flicked back over to Lance’s which were staring right at him. 

“Uh.” Keith managed, licking his lips before Lance pressed a kiss to him, urgent and hungry. Lance growled into his lips and lifted him by his hips, pressing him up against the door. Keith gasped and gripped his arms, kissing him back with just as much urgency. Lance hadn’t ever really acted so… roughly, before. He was always overly gentle with Keith. So much so that Keith didn’t realize how capable Lance was of acting like this, like a damn animal. “ _ Jesus _ .” He breathed, and Lance pulled back, hoisting Keith up a little more, right over his shoulder. 

“If I had known you had such a… _ muscle fetish, _ I would have been working out more!” Lance teased, and Keith grumbled to himself, grabbing onto Lance’s belt to steady himself as Lance carried him, over toward the showers. “This is why communication is key, babe.” He moved through the room and over to one of his bags before he let Keith down, who was dazed, to say the least. Lance dug through his bag before he pulled out a travel sized bottle of lube and grabbed Keith’s arm, tugging him into a shower stall. 

“Y-You have that, why?” Keith asked, peeling his jacket off awkwardly before he followed Lance in, shutting the curtain behind them. Lance was back on him again, pushing the lube into Keith’s palm before he worked on getting his own jeans off. 

“That’s a stupid question.” Lance teased, and Keith blushed, brows furrowing before he pulled his shirt off, then his jeans, hanging it all over the stall. Lance didn’t bother, just kicking his clothes out under the curtain. At least if, god forbid anyone came in, they wouldn’t be able to see Keith’s clothes. He gripped tight to the lube as Lance flicked the shower on, then pushed forward against Keith, cornering him against the shower wall. 

“What if someone comes in,  _ Lance _ , this is dangerous.” Keith whined, but Lance kissed him anyway, tongue invading Keith’s lips without warning. Keith gasped at the feeling of Lance’s hands tightening on his hips, squeezing him roughly as the water splashed between them. “Fuck you…” Keith gasped, and Lance smirked, pulling back to plant a kiss on his nose. 

“With pleasure.” Lance teased, and Keith rolled his eyes, only to squeeze them shut as Lance went back to kissing him, tongue dragging over the roof of Keith’s mouth. It made him gasp, and he gripped tight to his arms, back arching. “Actually, let me wash my hair first.” Lance pulled back, smirking at the absolutely _fucking_ _annoyed_ look on Keith’s face. He just squirted some shampoo onto his head and worked it in, taking a few steps back from his poor boyfriend, who did the same, though he was much more quick and angry with his actions. 

“You suck.” Keith hissed, plopping the lube bottle onto the little shelf that also held Lance’s face wash and hair products. He rinsed his hair and tried to ignore the half hard dick between his own legs, cursing Lance up and down in his head. When he was done, he noticed Lance rubbing the cleanser into his face. “You shower like a girl.” Keith grumbled, but took some of the face wash for himself, rubbing it roughly over his nose. 

“Yeah, and my skin is loving me for it.” Lance mumbled, and Keith huffed, scrubbing his face under the water. When both of them were finally clean,  Lance had almost forgotten his whole reason for bringing Keith with him. “Oh yeah-” Lance turned and gripped Keith’s hips, then lifted him, pressing him against the cold wall of the shower. Keith gasped and wiggled a little, trying to get away from the wall, but Lance pushed him closer, trapping him there. He bit into Keith’s collarbone, then pressed kiss there, glancing up to see the change in Keith’s expression. 

“Don’t… ah, whatever.” Keith mumbled. Marks wouldn’t matter. They’re already battered enough… Lance smirked and went on, kissing and biting at him, sucking dark bruises into his chest and lower neck. When he got a bit more brave, he moved up, above Keith’s neckline, right under his jaw, leaving a dark hickey there. Keith groaned, hips rolling a little. “Someone  _ will _ see that.” Keith grumbled, and Lance smiled, kissing over all the marks gently. 

“Let them.” Lance sighed, Turning his face up before he reached for the lube, bracing an arm around Keith to hold him up. Keith rolled his eyes, then gasped when he felt slick fingers over his entrance. “We can tell them now, you know.” Lance murmured, pressing his finger in carefully. Keith just gasped and leaned to grip Lance’s hair, both his arms around his head. 

“They don’t need to know.” Keith gasped, rocking his hips back slightly when he wanted more. Lance added another finger, stretching him carefully. 

“Why not?” Lance asked, pulling back to eye Keith, licking his lips quickly. “You don’t want anyone to know you’re mine?” Lance asked, and the way Keith’s eyes widened and his blush darkened made Lance’s smile return. “What, did you forget?” Lance asked, and Keith’s eyes fell, mouth dropping open slightly when Lance added a third finger, arm tightening around his waist. 

“No, I just…” Keith trailed off, feeling Lance’s fingers quicken and stretch him further. IT made his thighs weak, and Lance could feel it, pulling his fingers out to rinse them before he returned his hand to Keith’s ass, holding him up more easily. 

“You  _ are _ mine, though.” Lance’s voice had deepened, and Keith was red all over, his body quivering slightly. Lance shifted them again and managed to lube himself a bit before he angled himself, pressing against Keith’s entrance. Once he pressed in a bit, his hand was back on Keith’s ass, slipping him down carefully. He smirked at the way Keith groaned, his body arching to accommodate all of Lance. Lance’s lips were at his ear now, and Keith heard every grunt and groan that Lance let out as he rolled his hips ever so slowly. “Who do you belong to, Keith?” Lance asked, and Keith’s eyes shot open, letting out a tiny gasp. 

“ _ You- _ ” He managed, and Lance drew his hips back, then pushed back in, his hips rocking ever so slowly. “Lance- fuck-” Keith tried to bury his moans in Lance’s shoulder, but with the way Lance was rocking into him and bouncing him, it was much harder than he expected. He eventually gave in, letting his head fall back against the shower. 

“Man, imagine what Shiro would do if he found out I  _ fucked _ you in his lion…” Lance groaned, and Keith gasped again, sobbing out a moan. Lance’s hips sped up, and the sound of their sex and the water splashing onto the tile was all he could hear. Keith found himself angling his neck now, opening it up for Lance. 

“More-” Keith croaked, and Lance smirked into his neck, up under his jaw. 

“Yeah? More what?” Lance asked, and Keith dug his fingertips into Lance’s shoulders, groaning at the flex he felt underneath them as Lance fucked into him. 

“Marks- Lance- Just fucking do it-” Keith grumbled, gasping out a moan as Lance fucked into him a little harder, the smack echoing in his ears. 

“Why?” Lance growled, his tongue tracing over a spot on his neck. 

“Because….” Keith’s voice was quiet, his hands tangling into Lance’s hair now, gasping against his ear. He tightened his thighs against Lance’s hips, trying to work up the courage to speak. “I-I’m yours- That’s why…” Keith moaned, and Lance’s teeth dug into pale skin, biting and sucking sweet purple marks into his boyfriend. Keith gasped at the feeling and fell back against the wall when Lance’s mouth pulled off, gazing over at him. 

“ _ Hermosa… _ ” Lance sighed, and the new angle gave Lance a bit better of a chance to fuck deeper. Keith’s hands were still in his hair, but he was getting closer, and Lance was getting rougher. He was sure he’d have bruises on his thighs, inside and out. He tensed when he heard the door open, and his eyes shot to the shower curtain. Whoever it was came in whistling, and Keith quickly identified it as Hunk. Lance slowed his hips, but his eyes didn’t break from Keith, watching him trying to quiet himself. 

“Lance? You in here?” Hunk’s voice echoed, and another shower flicked on. Lance was quiet for a second, then gave an extra deep thrust to Keith, who clamped his hands over his mouth, eyes rolling back a bit. 

“Yeah- Almost done. How’s the arm going?” Lance asked, his voice sounding absolutely normal, and it would have irked Keith if he hadn’t currently been focusing on keeping absolutely silent. 

“It’s almost finished- just got a few more tweaks. Pidge is actually adding that vibrating feature, you kinky bastard.” Hunk laughed, and Lance laughed with him, repeating the move with his hips. Keith had to move forward, pushing his face into Lance’s shoulder. He bit down, trying to keep his breathing as quiet as he could. 

“Allura will love it.” Lance replied, and the water flipped off from Hunk’s shower. 

“I forgot to connect some wires- fuck, if I don’t do it  _ now, _ I’ll forget!” Hunk cried, and Lance pushed his hips up rudely once more. When he heard the door shut, he smirked, fucking roughly up into Keith again, who gasped and moaned against Lance’s shoulder, his fist coming between them to jerk himself off. 

“Fuck you, fuck you, fuck. You.” Keith groaned, panting hard as he got closer, and Lance just smiled, licking his lips as he fucked forward. He decided he had tortured Keith enough,so he just fucked into him just as he liked, hitting him deep with every hit. Keith’s moans were always music to his ears, especially when they were laced with Lance’s name. There was a hesitation in Keith’s moans this time, like he was working up to something.  _ “...Papi… _ ” Keith breathed, and Lance’s body tensed, his cheeks growing hot. Keith just smirked into Lance’s shoulder as the sex got rougher and his orgasm came closer, his fist working his cock quickly. 

“Better finish before he gets back.” Lance grunted, his breathing ragged now as he tried to get Keith to finish. Of course, he was first, Keith’s moans and that fucking pet name just a bit too much for him. Keith gasped and came with him, the feeling of heat spilling into him and Lance’s hands tightening impossibly on him taking him over the edge. 

“Fuck- Lance…” Keith groaned, body shuddering as Lance pulled out, lowering Keith carefully to the floor. He wasted no time in helping Keith clean up, grabbing a hand towel from the rack to wash him clean. Keith snatched it from him and washed himself, then tossed it at him with a smirk. “I can do it myself,  _ Papi _ .” Keith hissed, grin on his face never fading as he pushed the shower curtain to the side and grabbed himself a towel. Lance chewed his cheek at the petname and tried not to let it get to him, his cheeks already red again. 

“Don’t call me that, it’s dangerous.” Lance grumbled, drying his hair before he tied his towel around his waist. Keith quirked his brow at him and snickered, reaching up for his clothes to head into the changing rooms. 

“Oh hell yeah it is. It’s another kink I can take advantage of.” Keith teased, and Lance flipped him off, tying his hair up in another towel. 

“Well at least I know all I have to do is flex in front of you.” Lance grumbled, and Keith smiled, getting on his tiptoes to kiss Lance’s cheek. 

“Yeah, not such a bad thing I suppose.” 

“And you’re covered in hickeys now, so good luck with that.”

“Oh, fuck you.” 

 

\---

 

Once their hair was dry and their clothes were on the correct body- Lance had had to stop Keith before he left with the wrong blue-sleeved shirt on- They headed out to the common room- which had become Hunks new workspace, apparently- to check up on Pidge and Hunk’s progress. Keith went out first, plopping down in front of the arm to inspect it- it seemed about finished. They had even somehow gotten a rad dragon tattoo… burned? Into the metal. 

“Coran helped us with the tattoo- and he figured out how to make it glow. It glows blue now, though. He said it was more Altean.” Pidge explained, running the arm through its programming again, running final checks. Lance followed him in a few minutes later, moving over to the arm, grabbing a metal tool. 

“I wanna sign it, like a cast.” Lance said, searching the metal for the optimal position to place his name. Hunk smacked his hand away, glaring up at him. 

“No way. This is way too pretty for you to mess it up, man.” Hunk grumbled, then pressed on a piece of the arm, causing a plate on the inner arm to flip up. “Do it here, in secret.” Hunk winked and handed him a smaller tool, making Lance grin. He leaned forward to scrape his name into it, then handed the tool off to Hunk, who did the same. Pidge was off her laptop in seconds, eager to leave her mark on the arm. She scraped a haphazard ‘ _ HOLT _ ’ into the metal, then handed it off to Keith, who just wrote his name awkwardly, managing to fit it under Lance’s name. 

“Why just ‘Holt’?” Keith asked, thumb brushing some of the metal scrapings away. Pidge smiled and leaned back in her seat, tugging her laptop back onto her lap. 

“Gotta get my dad and brother in there, too.” Pidge said, smile on her lips as she spoke, then went back to clicking at the keys. Keith was convinced that she was faking her typing like, nintey percent of the time. 

“That’s really thoughtful of you, Pidge.” Hunk said, smiling up at her. He finished a bit of the connections he had to do up near the shoulder before he set back on his feet, sighing. “Done. I think it’s done. Now we just have to… connect it.” Hunk mumbled, going a little green. Lance looked at both Hunk, then to Pidge. 

“Neither of you… thought about that. Did you.” He huffed, then got to his feet and groaned. “We don’t have a doctor, and a healing pod won’t connect an arm for us!” Lance cried, throwing his arms up in annoyance. 

“We can find one, right?” Keith asked, worry setting into his chest. He had been really excited for Shiro to get his arm back, one that wasn’t going to give him nightmares. Pidge shook her head, then shifted in her seat, hesitating before she went back to typing. 

“Hunk, make a shoulder mount. I have a plan- it’s less painful, and it’ll make repairs easier…But I have to reprogram the whole arm.” Pidge grumbled, fingers flying over the keys at a ridiculous speed. Hunk didn’t ask questions, just went to work on cutting and fitting new pieces with the measurements they’d gotten from Shiro. “Lance, get me some snacks.” Pidge ordered, and Lance was about to complain, but he turned and headed off to the kitchen to get them all something to eat. It was times like this where he really wished he could just order takeout… He managed to whip them up something really plain, but after tasting his mix of food goo and weird jiggly blocks, the smiled to himself, eyes lighting up at the sheer cooking  _ genius _ he was.

He stepped back into the room balancing plates on his arms, handing one off to each of his friends. Pidge dug into hers right away without sparing it a glance, but Hunk investigated it like it was a fucking crime scene.  Lance acted offended, but honestly, it looked questionable. Keith picked at it, so Lance sat next to him. 

“You need to eat. You didn’t eat all day.” Lance murmured, loud enough so only Keith heard, and Keith just glanced at him, then took a bite. He eventually finished his whole plate, shifting closer to Lance as time went on and Pidge finished up her plans. Once she finally had something, she sighed, shutting the laptop over a bit.

“Keith, can you go and… pierce Shiro’s ear?” Pidge asked, nervous smile on her face as she looked up to Keith. Keith squinted over at her and shook his head. 

“Uh… no? Why?” He asked, and she turned her plans around. It showed a rough drawing of an ear, with an overly detailed drawing of a weird earring-looking-thing that coiled up and over the ear. 

“It’s the best way to hold it in place- honestly, I  _ could _ just make it hook over, but we’re limited here.” She explained, then leaned in to point out some of the finer details. “See- I designed it so it can take in his brainwaves and transmit that directly to the arm. It won’t have any delay since it’s so close to his brain, see?” Keith nodded and found himself completely lost, but got to his feet anyway. 

“Okay but… how do I get him to let me do it?” Keith asked, and Pidge smirked. 

“Tell him Allura will think it’s cool.” She said, and Lance laughed, making Keith roll his eyes. 

“Like that’ll work.” Keith grumbled, heading off to find Shiro.  

\---

“You really think she’ll like it?” Shiro asked, nervously fidgeting with the knee of his sleep pants as Keith stood next to him with a needle and an alcohol soaked cotton ball. He couldn’t believe this had actually fucking worked. 

“Yeah, I mean… She’s got earrings?” Keith said, and Shiro nodded, taking a deep breath. 

“Do it, man.” Shiro stared into the mirror and Keith jabbed it through without warning. Shiro didn’t even flinch. “That was anticlimactic.” Shiro huffed, then waited for Keith to put an earring in- thank god Pidge had coaxed the mice to bring them earrings from Allura’s jewelry box. “Your turn.” Shiro teased, and Keith put his hands up, shaking his head. 

“No way, man-” Keith chuckled, but realized that Shiro was  _ very _ serious as he got up to try and clean the needle off with one hand. Keith’s eyes widened and he was suddenly sitting on the bathroom sink, so he could be at a better angle for Shiro to jab him. “Dude, you have one hand.” Keith’s voice was shaky. 

“Yeah well, you have to match me. I’m not going to be the only guy on this ship with an earring.” Shiro laughed, angling his fingers just so- and Keith flinched when his ear stung, bit that was it. 

“Oh. That’s easy.” Keith mumbled, then flinched again when he put the earring in. Shrio patted his back and smiled at him. 

“Perfect! Now it won’t look so… weird.” Shiro huffed, then turned to look in the mirror. Keith looked in the mirror as well and frowned, watching the ugly purple gem dangle below his earlobe. 

“God… it’s so bad…” Keith grumbled, but Shiro shoved him from the bathroom before he could remove it. “You better tell me how Allura likes it.” Keith snickered, stuffing his hands in his pockets before he turned down the hall, back toward the common room. Shiro waved with a smile and headed off, the tied knot on his long sleeve sweater dangling awkwardly. 

_ We’ll have you fixed soon. _ Keith thought, smiling to himself, feeling warm inside from the interaction with Shiro. The more he got to spend time with him, the better he felt about the time he lost.

 

\---

 

“Hey.” Shiro’s voice was rough as he stepped into the kitchen, leaning into the door with a smile. Allura looked up from the book she’d been reading, then looked twice at Shiro before she smiled and put her mug down. 

“Shiro… What on Altea is  _ that _ ?” She asked, laugh threatening her lips. “Is that my earring?” She asked, setting her book down carefully before she stepped toward him. 

“Yeah- Just uh, thought I’d change it up a little. You know, distract from the arm. Or, non existence thereof.” He said with a chuckle, and she reached up to lift the gem with her finger, then dropped her hand, letting it land on his chest. 

“It’s lovely. I always thought jewelry would look nice on someone around here, other than  me.” She said, turning back to go get her mug. “Did you come in here just to try and woo me with your weird Earth moves?” She asked, smirking over her shoulder before she tucked her book under her arm and turned to walk past him. He stopped her, sticking his arm across the doorway. 

“Did it work?” He asked, giving her a grin. She just wrinkled her nose in a laugh, then ducked under his arm. He frowned and followed her, stuffing his hand into his pocket. “Wait- really? Can you just say it’s cool so I can feel better about it?” He asked, and she laughed again, turning to face him. 

“It’s very cool. I’m sure an earth girl would be drooling over you.” She said, smirking into her mug. Shiro’s eyes widened, realizing the game she was playing. 

“You’re doing it on purpose! Come on! Do you think it’s cool?” He asked, but the smile never left his face. She shrugged, waiting for Shiro as he stepped to her and wrapped a hand around her waist, landing a kiss on her forehead. 

“It’s pretty cool, I suppose. But why only one?” She asked, and Shrio shrugged. 

“On earth, guys usually only get one- besides, I needed one for Keith.” Shiro grinned, and Allura pushed at his chest as she laughed. 

“ _ Takashi _ , that’s not very nice.” She said, and smirked as Shiro’s cheeks went red.

“How’d you… My name...” He trailed off as she got on her toes to kiss him, melting his thoughts away. His hand tightened in the fabric of her nightgown, and she sighed, pulling back slowly. 

“The mice tell me everything.” She murmured, then gave him a wink and pulled back, turning toward her bedroom. “Like how that’s not the  _ only _ piece of body jewelry you have, is it, Shiro?” She asked, and Shiro felt his ears heat up as she disappeared into her room. 

“Those _fucking_ _rodents_.” He hissed, pushing a nervous hand through his hair as he walked off toward his own room. Probably to fill in every mouse hole in his bedroom. 

\---

Keith wandered back into the common room, eyes falling over Hunk, who was angrily trying to click the arm into the mount. Lance was holding it up for him at the right angle, but it didn’t seem to be working. Pidge was shouting at them to be careful, and Keith laughed as he moved to help Lance, angling it a bit better. IT clicked into place and Hunk smiled, nodding at Keith. 

“Thank goodness  _ someone _ here had an eye for mechanics.” Hunk grumbled toward Lance, who just stuck out his tongue and flopped back on the couch. “How’d the earring operation go?” Hunk asked, and Keith gave him a thumbs up, carefully setting the arm back down.

“I’ve already finished the earpiece so- do you want to go show him?” Pidge asked, holding out her palm to show Keith the small earring-like machine she had created. 

“They say rome wasn’t build in a day but-” Keith started, but Pidge cut him off.

“It’s possible, actually. They were just lazy.” Pidge said, smirk on her lips.

“Let’s go show Shiro.” Lance suggested, getting to his feet with a triumphant grin. 

“I want to carry the arm!” Hunk cried, picking up their day old creation carefully. 

\---

Keith banged his fist on Shiro’s door, and backed off when the door opened and Shiro was crouched by his bed, a laundry basket high over his head. His hair was back in a tiny bun, right on the top of his head. 

“A pineapple…” Pidge mumbled, staring at his hair. Shiro looked over at them, then his basket, then put it down carefully. 

“Sorry uh… i have an infestation, is all.” Shiro explained, and his eyes widened when he spotted the metal in Hunk’s hands. “Is that… you guys… already?” He asked, and Keith smiled, stepping back so Hunk could move forward toward him. 

“Well, I’m the best programmer around, and Hunk is top mechanic in the galaxy, so. We make a good team.” Pidge explained, hands on her hips proudly. Shiro smiled fondly at her for a moment, thinking of her brother, and her father, and how she was so much like them. 

“Hey, I helped!” Lance cried, pushing his way into the room. Shiro chuckled at them and leaned in to study the arm, fingers tracing over the sick tattoo job. 

“How’d you know I liked dragons?” Shiro asked with a laugh, then looked over at Keith, who had raised his hand awkwardly, but still hadn’t really stepped forward. “It’s pretty cool. Does… Does that say ‘bork’ in front of it’s mouth?” He asked, squinting at the tiny, tiny lettering. 

“Keith said you liked dogs too but I didn’t know how to incorporate it. Coran helped me learn how to burn stuff into the metal.” Hunk explained, and Shiro backed up to look at it completely, then at his friends. 

“You guys are incredible, you know.” Shiro said, fond smile across his lips. Pidge just smiled and held out the ear piece. Shiro looked over it, then carefully lifted it up, examining all of it. “Is this… What does it do?” He asked, and Pidge bounced on her toes, much too excited for this. 

“Put it on. Like an earring.” She smirked, and Shiro glared at Keith, who shied away behind Hunk. 

“Oh my god, you tricked me! You  _ didn’t _ think she’d think it was cool!” Shiro cried, and Keith snickered, poking his head out. 

“It was for the greater good.” Keith explained, and Shiro just scoffed, letting Pidge help him put the earring on. Once it was on, he just kind of stood there, waiting for Hunk and Keith to figure out all the straps and such on the mount. Lance ended up holding the arm, looking nervous as all hell as he basically held Shiro’s  _ limb _ in his hands. 

“Okay- So like this?” Hunk asked, and Pidge nodded, Keith helping him tighten the buckles until it was snug, fitting perfectly around Shiro’s body. One strap went around his torso, the other around his neck. It was sleek against the scar next to Shiro’s shoulder, and it Pidge breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness. Okay uh- Keith? Will you get the arm? We know we can’t trust _ Captain Fumbles _ over here.” She snickered, teasing Lance as Keith took the arm from him. Lance just crossed his arms and huffed, pouting over to her. 

“Whatever.” He mumbled, and Keith moved to hold the arm up, hesitating before it clicked into place. Shiro jolted, then his eyes widened, looking down at the arm in disbelief. Keith’s hands felt warm against his arm as he held on to it.

“Katie…” He mumbled, and Pidge's eyes widened, gripping her shirt. “I can… I can feel it. It doesn’t feel…  _ wrong… _ how on earth did you do this?” He asked, looking back over to her. She could barely speak, noticing the tears in the corners of Shiro’s eyes. 

“Just… try to move it… and you will.” She told him, and Shiro flexed his arm, then wiggled his fingers. They all moved, all perfectly, all realistically. Shiro couldn’t stop staring. “If you- there’s switches under the wrist plate. They’re not  _ all _ weapons- they all do something different.” She told him, stepping closer to help him out. He showed her the wrist and she flipped up a plate, showing the different buttons- pink, red, blue, yellow, and green. Shiro smiled at the tiny detail- all of their paladin colors, and Allura’s. 

“Blue is- that’s a laser. IT actually works, so just don’t use it in here.” She explained, and Lance smiled, very proud that his idea had been included. “The red is a tiny knife!” She pointed out, switching the button so a thin blade popped out of the fingertip. 

“My own swiss army knife!” He said with a laugh, and Pidge giggled, shaking her head as she clicked it again and the knife went back in. 

“Well okay, that’s one way to put it.” She hit the yellow button, and his eyes widened as the armor on his hand thickened, small spikes extending from the knuckles. 

“For crackin’ some bad guys like eggs.” Hunk added, cracking his own knuckles. Shiro smirked and glanced up at Hunk, who just looked over at Keith nervously. “ _ Did I say that right? _ ” he whispered, and Keith nodded. 

“Good attempt.” Keith whispered, and Hunk gave a nervous smile. 

“Pretty badass, Hunk.” Shiro smiled and waited for Pidge to press the next button. She hit the yellow button again and the hand returned to normal, then she hesitated over the green button. 

“Ah, this one’s kinda lame- it’s just a starmap…” She mumbled, the hit the button, the whole room filling with stars. All of their eyes widened and they looked around. It was almost like the one in the control room… but it was all coming from Shiro’s  _ hand _ . “If you ever lose your way... It’s connected to the castle, and all of our Lions. I wanted to connect it to our quintessence but, I’m not that good yet.” She murmured, then hit the button again, watching everything fade. 

“Keyword: Yet.” Shiro told her, and her grin returned. “Katie, your brother would be so absolutely proud of you. I want you to know that.” He told her, and her grin tightened, then fell, her hand coming up to rub her eyes. Her glasses went a little lopsided, and she just laughed. “Pidge…” Shiro murmured, and she shook her head, straightening her glasses to smile back up at him. Her face was a little red, but she smiled, having successfully stopped the oncoming waterworks. 

“I know he would- he will be.” She said, nodding before she backed off. Shiro pushed his wrist forward though, staring down at the final button. 

“What about the pink one?” He asked, and Pidge chuckled, pushing her glasses up as she backed off a little. 

“Lance’s idea. You can yell at him.” She said, and Lance went pale, rushing toward the door. He filed out, then Pidge, and Keith waved as he headed out behind them. Hunk was last, shooting Shiro a smile and a thumbs up before he closed the door. Shiro eyed the button, then clicked it hesitantly. 

His face was red in  _ seconds _ . 

“ **_Lance_ ** !” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¡Oh Dios mío! Tengo que conseguir una tarta! Un regalo, también! - "Oh my god! I have to get a cake! A gift, too!"  
> ¿Que voy a hacer? - "What am I going to do?"  
> Hermosa- beautiful   
> -  
> I'm suprised that this had more plot than porn actually but its my longest chapter also this is NOT THE END i have a lot more and next chapter is gonna be good as fuck i've been planning it forever   
> -  
> I HOPE U LIKE THIS CHAPTER IT TOOK ME NINE HOURS HALLELOO   
> -  
> -  
> ((REAL TALK PLS IGNORE - I apologize ahead of time there will not be a lot of shallura in this aside from the small cute fluffy interactions- it's making me uncomfortable to write because one im not straight and feel rlly weird writing straight interactions it all feels really bad and superficial to me? I just feel weird writing it so im telling you now there wont be any shallura smut im sorry also wont be any shaladin stuff because i was in a rlly bad/abusive poly relationship and writing that stuff triggers me- sometimes i can look at it but it rlly fucks me up honestly))


	7. Believe in you, I believe it too.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What In Self Deprecation

“Of  _ course _ you can do it- I  _ saw _ that shot you made when we were rescuing Slav. You could make any shot we needed you to.” Shiro had said, patting Lance on the back as they discussed the plans for their next big mission. 

They were going to send Keith into a Galran base on a nearby planet to collect as much intel as he could on Prince Lotor. It had to be Keith because he was part Galran, and Shiro’s arm no longer allowed him to access the ship like they needed him to. They had only heard of Lotor, in threatening transmissions from the Galra, as well as through intercepted messages from one Glaran fleet to another. They knew he was the son of Zarkon- but what was he capable of? Did he have a mech-like weapon like his father? What were his personal motives? 

“I don’t know, Shiro- This might not be a great plan. I mean, I’m  _ good _ , don’t get me wrong.” Lance spoke with a smirk, wiggling his brows up at the Black Paladin. Lance was nervous- covering up his anxieties with a snide comment or quick joke was commonplace for him. “But- Should we be putting Keith’s life in… my hands?” Lance asked, the smile faltering for a moment. 

“What are you doubting yourself for, Lance? You’re a great shot, even if you don’t believe it. You’re going in to cover his back from a distance. Emphasis on  _ distance _ . It’ll be easier if you stay hidden, so you can help him out if he get’s captured.” Shiro explained, and Lance chewed his cheek, glancing over to Keith, who was currently jamming his face full of food goo in preparation for their mission. They didn’t know what would happen- this was the first time they were entering a Galran base- before, they were just ships. 

“It sounds easier said than done… Besides, you’re not the one putting your-” Lance halted, then quickly corrected himself. “ _ Friend’s _ life- in your hands.” Lance fumbled over his words, and Shiro scoffed, shooting Lance a look.

“Lance, I’m constantly playing puppet master here! Your lives are always in my hands- well, hand.” He tried to make light, wiggling the metal fingers at Lance with a half-hearted smile. Lance was already smiling, though it was fake and Shiro knew it. “Pidge will go over the layout with you so you can mark the best vantage points on your holo-map. And Coran updated your bayard so it has better range,  _ and _ a new scope.” Shiro tried his best to reassure him, but it did little to calm Lance’s fears. 

What if he fucked this up and let  Keith get hurt, or captured? What if he fucked up a shot and hit Keith? He felt anxiety creep up his neck and down to his stomach as he turned toward Pidge, letting her hit a button on his arm guard to flick on the holo-map of the new Galran base. 

“There are plenty of high points in this type of Galran base- it’s mostly outdoors, so you’ll need your helmets on. That just means vision is limited.” Pidge started off, moving the map much faster than Lance could keep up with. He was breathing a little too fast. His eyes felt blurry. He blinked a few times and pidge looked up at him, then frowned, zooming in on a few points. “I’m just going to mark these columns for you. Stop freaking out, okay?” Pidge told him, and Lance shrugged. 

“Easier said than done.” Lance mumbled, watching the map as pidge marked the tops of columns with a red marker, the glow faint in the outline of the whole map. 

“Keith will be marked on here too, in pink.” Pidge told him, and Lance nodded, glancing over to Keith again. He was talking to Shiro now, drinking some rather nasty looking drink. Coran was really trying to press him to eat enough, in case the mission ran longer than expected, apparently. “Lance. Pay attention.” She grumbled, eyes flicking up to him from under her helmet. “I know you’re worried, but I know you’ll do great. Okay?” She reassured him, and Lance gave her a smile. She just sighed and hugged him quickly, a bit awkwardly, before she pulled back and turned to do something on her computer. 

“Thanks, Pidge.” He smiled and turned on his heel, rubbing his nose before he leaned on the counter across from Keith and Shiro, as well as a nagging Coran. Keith barely realized he was there, listening to every work Shiro told him about their plans. When he finally noticed Lance, Lance gave him a small smile, waiting for him to find a free minute. Keith nodded to him, but was still stuck with Shiro for now, so Lance just waved to him and turned, heading toward Hunk. 

“Feelin’ loose?” Hunk asked, swaying a little before he caught Lance, who was about to faceplant into his shoulder. “Okay, too loose.” Hunk mumbled, righting his nervous friend and giving him a worried smile. “It’s okay to be worried, you know. Nervous is normal.” Hunk assured him, but Lance just groaned, leaning up against Hunk’s large shoulder. 

“I don’t know, I feel like I’m made of spaghetti.” Lance grumbled, and Hunk shrugged. 

“Spaghetti is good!” He laughed, and Lance threw his arm over his eyes, dramatics on high. 

“ _ Not _ al dente, though.  _ Overcooked _ ! I’m a mushy bowl of linguini.” Lance cried, and Hunk smiled softly, patting Lance on the back a few times before he righted him again. “I’d kill to eat me, though.” Lance finally cracked a smile, and Hunk snorted, turning back to his sketchbook. He had been finishing up some sketches on how to perfect Shiro’s arm- it still had some kinks to work out. 

“Hey man, some people like overcooked pasta. Maybe you just need to learn to like being overcooked?” Hunk asked, peeking up to Lance who was fidgeting with papers Hunk had splayed on the table. 

“So philosophical, dude.” Lance chuckled, but the nerves kept coming in waves. He just wanted to talk to Keith. He looked over at him again, and it seemed Shiro had left him for now, so Lance broke away from his spot with Hunk to head toward Keith. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy- Allura had made her way to him before Lance could, so he turned on his heel and leaned on the wall, waiting his turn. 

“Lance! Would you like to go over the new functions of your bayard? I think you’re going to love it!” Coran’s voice piped up from next to his ear and Lance jumped, tensing as he gave a little nod. “Perfect! This way.” Coran gave a bright smile and led Lance away. He shot a glance over his shoulder to Keith, who was watching him now, barely listening to Allura’s words of encouragement. 

 

Before they knew it, they were loaded into the Lions, ready to go. 

\---

 

“Alright, team. Let’s keep it clean and quiet. Lance, Keith, we’ll be waiting out in these craters after drop off. As soon as you need us, call us in and we’ll be back to pick you up. Pidge, you got them?” Shiro’s voice came over the intercom, and Lance was gripping tight to Keith’s hand behind Pidge's pilot chair.

“Roger.” Pidge responded, hitting the cloaking on her lion as they flew over the craggy terrain of the alien planet. It was apparent that the Galra had already killed off any other life on this planet, or enslaved them. Lance watched the terrain fly by, noting small, destroyed husks that seemed like they had acted as homes at one point. They were nothing, now. 

His attention flickered when they came up on the base. It was huge- much larger than it looked on the map. His throat tightened and Pidge turned, dodging an incoming ship as it docked itself in the base’s hangar. She flew up and over the structure, and Lance caught sight of what seemed like a wide courtyard in the middle of the base, and lots of winding, tight hallways.  _ Those _ sure should be fun to navigate on their way out. 

“Alright- Lance, you’ll drop out first, okay? If you land on one of those central pillars, you should easily be able to see Keith the whole way. I’ll be waiting up a bit higher, so just call me down if anything goes south.” She told them, and Lance nodded, shifting to look at Keith for a bit longer than he really needed to before he exited, jetting his way down silently. Luckily he wasn’t noticed, and he had his bayard out and ready the second his feet touched the top of the metal pillar. It looked like it must have been used for surveillance at one point, because it really did look over almost all of the base. 

“All set.” Lance spoke, kneeling down and watching up for Keith to drop out as well. 

“Alright.” Pidge nodded to him, then turned to Keith, smirking at him as she turned off her com. “He turned you down, huh? He sure doesn’t  _ act _ like someone who doesn’t have feelings for you...” She teased, and Keith raised a brow. 

“What makes you say that?” He asked, tensed a little as he turned toward the exit. 

“He’s nervous as hell, Keith. I’ve never seen him like this.” She told him, and Keith dropped his gaze, ducking out of the lion once Pidge had them in position. Pidge just smiled after him, watching him all the way until he was safely on the ground, having hidden himself in an uncovered hallway. 

“Alright, I’m in. I’m going for the main controls.” Keith’s voice came over the intercom.

“Momma’s about to be twenty dollars richer.” Pidge spoke to herself with a smirk, flying her lion up a bit higher, better able to stay out of the range of any scanners that might pick her up.

\---

“I’m almost there.” Keith hissed into his com, leaning tight up against a wall as he waited for some sentries to pass by him. Lance took them out before Keith even had a chance to draw his blade. “Thanks, sharpshooter.” He said, and Lance heard the smile on his voice. A grin and a flutter of happiness cracked the nervousness in his body.

“I try.” Lance sighed, watching Keith as he disappeared down the hall. He couldn’t see him anymore, so he grabbed his bayard and looked around, waiting until the sentries cleared out before he jetted his way to a new pillar. He could see Keith again, watching as he moved into the main control room. 

“Main room is clear, I’m gonna plug this in and let Pidge work her magic. It clear out there, Lance?” Keith asked, and Lance grunted as he took out two more sentries and a few drones that were pacing the area. 

“Good for now.” He replied, and he heard Pidge flick her com back on. 

“Incoming ship. Stay low, Lance.” She warned, and he heard the faint clicking of her keyboard as she remotely hacked into their computers and gathered as much intel as she could. Lance ducked and peeked over the edge of his pillar, watching a ship of guards unload. His eyes widened and he backed off, pressing against his gun, which was propped up on the stand that Coran had added. 

“Pidge- what does Lotor look like?” He asked, and Pidge made a noise then more clicking. 

“Long white hair, kinda looks like a bitch.” She snickered, and Lance held back a laugh, peeking over the edge again. It was him, it had to be. “He’s pretty, for a Galran.” She said, and Lance shrugged to himself. 

“Galran’s are pretty hot. I’d fuck a galran, what with the big ears and all?” Lance teased, and Keith blushed from his hiding spot in the main room, knife in hand as he waited. 

“Alright, enough. Pidge, are you almost done up there?” Keith asked, tensing and ducking when a door opened toward the back. Lance squinted as the troop protecting Lotor disappeared into a covered area. “Shit- someone’s coming.” He hissed, and Lance tensed, grabbing his gun to jet his way over to another area. He made his way closer to the door Keith had gone into, but it was all he could do for now. 

“Do you want me to come in?” Lance asked, but Keith was quiet. 

“I’m done- Keith, get out, now.” Pidge said, leaning forward to watch down at them, but Keith said nothing again. Lotor and a group of Galran’s had made their way into the room, and were currently investigating the tiny device that Keith had stuck into a connector port to transmit the information to pidge. He held his breath, feeling the sweat drip down his forehead. 

“Keith?” Lance murmured nervously after a few moments, staring at the doors. He tensed when the doors opened, and he spotted Keith among the guards, his helmet cracked on one side. He was fighting, always a good sign, so Lance grabbed for his gun and stared down the scope. He managed to take out a few guards before a certain white-haired Galran moved behind Keith, wrapping an arm tight around his throat. 

“Enough with the games, Blue one.” Lance heard, as Lotor pressed his mouth close enough to Keith’s helmet for Lance to hear him. The voice felt like slime over his ears, his spine shuddering as he grit his teeth. 

“Shiro, we need backup.” Pidge called, opening up the com line for everyone. 

“On our way.” Shiro spoke calmly. Lance, however, was spiraling. His hands were shaking, his breathing was uneven. He didn’t know exactly what had happened in that room, but he was angry that he had let it happen. He should have shot Lotor and his men before they even made it in there. He should have went in there instead of asking. He should have done so many things differently, but that didn’t matter, because now they were heading toward Lotor’s ship. 

“Lance, what’s going on?” Shiro’s voice snapped Lance out of his nervous haze. 

“They- they’re taking him- Shiro, it’s Lotor.” Lance’s voice was uneven, and he took a deep breath, watching Keith jerk his body and fidget against the grip of Prince Lotor. He must have been very strong, because Keith couldn’t move much at all, and Keith was pretty fucking strong. 

“Okay, remain calm and take them out.” Shiro spoke, and Lance felt the blood drain from his face. 

“Shiro, I can’t- there’s like ten of them, and they could kill him before I even get through with them!” Lance hissed, finger shaking as he tapped the trigger. 

“You can, Lance. Take the ones with the guns, first. You have to.” Shiro spoke, and Lance looked overhead as he heard the roar of the other Lions finally joining them. “This will distract them. Focus on getting Keith.” Shiro told him, and he flinched as Hunk blasted away at some of the base, mostly away from where they were. 

The Galran soldiers all stopped, moving to protect Lotor. Lance took a deep breath, searching Lotor’s body for any signs of a weapon, trying to make sure there was no way Keith could be hurt if he started shooting. Lotor disappeared into the ship, his grip replaced by what he assumed to be a general of some kind, not wearing the same kind of soldier’s garb the rest of them were wearing. 

 

His vision started to blur. His finger trembled on the trigger. His body was so cold, but his breath was hot against the inside of his mask. It was dead silent, but the thud of his blood rushing past his eardrums was deafening. It felt like time slowed down, but it was still running out  _ so fast _ . He didn’t trust himself, but  _ they _ all seemed to. If he missed this, messed this up, he wouldn’t be able to face anyone, not ever again. 

  
  


“I can’t- Keith, I can’t do it-” Lance croaked, and he stared at Keith through his scope, the blood he spotted on his chin making his stomach curl in the worst way. The guards moved in front of Keith, moving backward toward the ship now- they were almost there, he had wasted so much time- “They’re all in the way-  I can’t get a clear shot-” Lance sputtered, and he heard Shiro’s voice again. 

“You  _ can _ , Lance.” Shiro sounded desperate, and Lance gritted his teeth before he made up his mind. He closed his eyes for a split second, trying to clear his head, to get into the right headspace to make the right shot, just like he had done before. 

  
  


_ Static.  _

 

_ Dead air.  _

 

_ A sharp intake of breath. _

 

_ Then-  _

 

“I love you, Keith.” 

 

“I know.” 

 

His shot rang out through the hollow metal husk of the base, and time felt like it stopped.

 

It only resumed for Lance when Keith was wrapping his arm around his shoulders to carry him up to the Green Lion, avoiding the fire they were now under. He gripped tight to Pidge's chair as she flew, avoiding the blasts and enemy ships that flew out to greet them. 

Keith could see the absolute terror in Lance’s face, he looked sick. He hadn’t even met eyes with Keith yet, so Keith turned to grab his helmet, jerking his face to look at Keith, to accept that he was alive, that he was okay. Lance stared at him, eyes wide. He dropped his bayard and it sparkled into nothingness at his feet. 

“I’m so sorry.” Lance spoke, and Keith shook his head, pulling him into a hug. 

“You did everything right.” Keith reassured him, tugging his helmet off, then Lance’s, tossing them to the floor. 

“I could have killed you.” Lance mumbled, and Keith smiled, thumbing over the nape of Lance’s neck. 

“But you  _ didn’t _ . I trust you more than anyone in the galaxy to make a shot like that.” Keith spoke, and he could hear Pidge making gagging noises from her spot in the pilot’s seat. 

“I put you in danger.” Lance sighed, wrapping his arms up around Keith’s back, tugging him close, as if he could disappear. 

“You didn’t- If anything, it was  _ Shiro’s _ shitty plan.” Keith teased, pulling back to eye Lance, who just nodded.

“Yeah- Yeah it was, wasn’t it?” Lance grumbled. He didn’t laugh, and Keith’s smile fell, brows furrowing before Lance tucked his face into Keith’s shoulder, taking a deep, shuddering breath. 

“Alright lovebirds, time’s up.” Pidge huffed, pulling into her hangar of the castle. Lance pulled back to grab Keith’s hand, squeezing it before he let go and headed out from the Lion. It seemed that everyone had already made it back and Allura was in the process of starting up a wormhole jump so they could escape the Galra again. 

Shiro, Hunk, and Coran all made their way to the main control room to meet up with Allura, and Lance, Keith and Pidge were not far behind, Lance walking much faster than he needed to. Keith tried to keep up, turning into the room a few seconds after Lance- but he was already halfway across the room, beelining for Shiro. 

“That shot was great, Lance.” Shiro said to him with a beaming smile, but his face twisted to confusion at the look that Lance wore- pure fucking anger. “Lance?” It was so different, so terrifying in a way, and Shiro took a step back, but not far enough back as Lance’s armored fist came colliding with his jaw. It sent Shiro twisting back, slamming into the railing with a loud  _ crunch _ .

Hunk flinched but quickly grabbed for Lance before he could land another blow, holding his elbows as he jerked forward toward Shiro again- thank god for Hunk’s strength, because it was the only thing keeping all of Shiro’s teeth in his mouth at the moment. 

“ _ Lance _ !” Keith cried, and he booked it over to them, but passed by Lance to help Shiro to his feet, eyes falling on a rather large dent in his new arm. 

“Fucking hell-” Shiro groaned, glaring over at Lance. Sure, he was angry, but he was more concerned and confused than anything. “What got into you?” Shiro hissed, spitting a bit of blood onto the floor as his lip had busted against his teeth. Lance had settled a bit, so Hunk let him go, but stayed close by, ready to grab onto him if he tried to start anything again. 

“ _ He could have died. _ ” Lance spat, and Keith’s eyes widened, watching Lance’s posture straighten- his shoulders seemed broader than usual, his chest puffed as he stalked toward Shiro. Shiro just put up his arm, and sparks flew from the break as Lance pushed against his hand, getting as close as he could, wanting his words to stick. “I  _ told _ you I couldn’t do it, and he almost died because of your  _ half assed plan _ .” Lance’s words were like acid, and Keith couldn’t stop staring- this Lance was scary, he was too intense, much too angry, and absolutely terrified- that much was evident. 

“Lance- You did it, you made that shot and did what you went to do!” Shiro growled, brows furrowing in anger. The room was quiet and stiff. They had all heard Lance’s last words to Keith before he made that shot, so they all knew why he was acting this way- that didn’t mean that his words were accepted or justified in the eyes of anyone in that room but Lance. 

“What if I didn’t? What if I didn’t make it, and I hit Keith instead and he  _ died _ ?” Lance asked, his voice breaking now. His resolve was fading, and his posture sunk a bit, enough for Keith to drop his eyes and step back, behind Shiro. “What if I missed, and they got him on that ship? What if he became a prisoner and had to go through what you did?” He asked, jabbing a finger at Shiro’s chest. Shiro hadn’t realized it, but Lance was just as tall as he was now. It turned the intimidation up just a notch, but Shiro didn’t let it win. 

“ _ He didn’t.  _ You  _ didn’t _ miss. It’s not  _ my _ fault that  _ you _ can’t bring yourself to believe you’re as good of a shot as you really are. This  _ ‘self doubt’ _ you have going on needs to be resolved. It’s putting the team in danger, not to mention your  _ boyfriend _ .” Shiro spat back, and Lance’s nostrils flared. Hunk saw the tensity of Lance’s shoulders and grabbed him as his body lunged again, dragging him back quickly. 

“ _Aaalright_ _buddy-_ Let’s cool you off.” Hunk grunted, dragging a pissed off Lance back down the hall. Allura just watched the whole thing from her controls, staying quiet to let Shiro deal with the drama. It _was_ his job, after all.

“Earth relationships are odd.” She mumbled, and Pidge snickered, plopping down on a step to start taking off her armor. Keith tore his chest plate off, tossing it to his feet. 

“Why’d you say that?” Keith asked, shiro, who just furrowed his brow and gripped his jaw, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth. 

“Say what? It’s the truth.” Shiro sighed, leaning back on the railing. He knew he had been just as mean back to Lance as Lance had been to him- though he was a bit more toned down about it. 

“You told him his self doubt was an issue? You don’t think he knows that?” Keith hissed, his glare meeting Shiro’s eyes. “And you mentioned that I was his boyfriend? Why? To piss him off?” Keith asked. When Shiro didn’t respond right away, Keith scoffed and moved from the room, off to find Lance. Punching Shiro wasn’t the right way to go about things, but what Shiro had said wasn’t fair either. 

_ It surely wasn’t the right thing to say to someone who already doubts himself like Lance does.  _

 

\---

 

When Keith found Lance, he had managed to remove most of his armor, scattering it down the hall like a trail of breadcrumbs. Lance was in his room, with Hunk standing outside the door. Hunk nodded to him and stopped him before he went in, frowning over to him. 

“Watch out for waterworks, dude. What Shiro said really fucked him up, I think. He told me not to let you in but- to be honest he probably wants to see you.” Hunk sighed, then dropped his arm and opened the door for Keith, closing it behind him. Lance was holed up on his bed, his armor scattered on the floor. His face was a mess, as were his hands, shaking and picking at the tips of his fingers as he stared down at them. 

“Lance?” Keith called out softly, then sighed when Lance flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, his fingers tensing before they went back to their subconscious picking. “Lance.” Keith spoke a little more firmly, moving toward him. Lance jerked himself into the corner, and Keith halted, frowning at him. “Can I come sit with you?” He asked, and Lance shook his head, hunching his knees up before he pushed his hands into his hair, gripping tight. “Well, too bad.” Keith grumbled, moving to Lance finally, sitting on the bed next to him. Lance stayed glued to the wall, and Keith couldn’t see his face anymore, so he just stayed like that, quiet next to Lance. 

“I shouldn’t have hit him.” Lance mumbled, and Keith smiled a bit. 

“Well yeah. Agreed.” Keith said, resting his hand between them, his palm turned up for Lance when he was ready. Apparently, Lance was ready now, his hand quickly snaking between them to grip Keith’s, tight and trembling. 

“I shouldn’t have blamed him.” Lance sighed, his voice tight. Keith nodded, thumbing softly over Lance’s knuckles. “It was my fault.” Lance hissed, and Keith frowned again, shaking his head. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Lance-” Keith started, but Lance finally turned to him to talk. It was more like a blubbering cry, Lance’s face twisted in pain.

“I could have! Keith, I could have missed, I could have hit you! I’m not good enough to be here- It doesn’t even make sense why I’m here!” Lance cried, his breathing fast and uneven. 

“Lance, you’re freaking out.” Keith spoke softly, reaching to push his hair from his face and pull him close. It was awkward, but they shifted so Lance was finally off of the wall, and Keith was on his lap, holding his head steady in his hands. He thumbed over Lance’s wet cheeks, and Lance just looked down, trying to hold in all the horrible emotion that was spilling over. “Breathe?” Keith asked, soft as he pressed a kiss to Lance’s forehead. 

Lance focused on the movement of Keith’s thumbs over his cheeks, using them as guides to steady his breaths, trying to keep his heart from racing, from his lungs from emptying so quickly. Everything slowed, the thud in his ears quieted, the lump in his throat slowly sunk. When he was back down, back to a relatively normal state of being, he looked up to Keith, who just answered his silence with a kiss. He held him there, palms like anchors on his boyfriend’s jaw, fingers like a metronome, ticking away the worry with every simple swipe over soft freckles skin. 

“Thank you.” Lance whispered, and Keith nodded, pulling back to look down at him. His smile was gone- he could only hide his worry so much. He waited a few moments, letting Lance lean his head back on the wall, letting him relax, just for now. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this, Keith. I don’t get why I’m here, and I don’t feel like I deserve be here-”

“The Blue Lion picked you, and that’s why you’re here.” Keith murmured, leaving a soft peck on Lance’s cheek. “I was in those ruins countless times, and she never once spoke to me. She never even showed herself, not until you showed up.” Keith told him, and Lance closed his eyes, his hands coming up to slide over Keith’s. “You doubt yourself, I know that. But _ I  _ don’t doubt you, Lance.  _ None of us do. _ All of us believe you  _ deserve _ to be here, and so does Blue.” He spoke softly, his lips brushing Lance’s cheek. He moved forward, slipping his arms around him into a hug. “Why can’t you accept that you’re great?” Keith sighed, and Lance’s lip trembled, his brows furrowing again as he rested his face in Keith’s neck. 

“I don’t know- I wish I knew how this anxiety worked, Keith, but I don’t.” Lance muttered, his palms finding a spot on Keith’s lower back, tightening his grip just a bit. Keith sighed, feeling himself melt into Lance, and Lance accepting him, hands smoothing perfectly over him to pull him in. 

“Then- if you can’t believe in yourself, believe in me. Because I believe in you.” Keith sighed, burrowing his nose into Lance’s neck, leaving a small kiss there. He felt a rumble of a laugh bubble in Lance’s throat before he pulled back to smile at him. 

“Did- Did you just give me the  _ Kamina _ speech?” Lance laughed, the tension dispersing with that perfect smile that he gave. Keith had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, though. 

“Wh… what?” Keith asked, finding himself smiling a wide, gross smile as well, laughing along with Lance. They ended up falling to the side, sprawled out on Lance’s bed, tangled into each other as they finally let themselves laugh. It felt normal again.

“I can’t believe you gave me the Kamina talk and haven’t even seen the anime.” Lance huffed, his hand coming up to tangle in Keith’s hair, pulling him closer for a kiss. It lasted only a second, Keith pulling back quickly. 

“Don’t compare your weeaboo bullshit to my sentimental moment.” Keith grumbled, thumbing over Lance’s bottom lip. Lance just laughed and smiled wide, his eyes finally sparkling back at Keith’s.

“Don’t call it weeaboo bullshit! It’s still sentimental!” Lance whined, pushing his nose forward, nuzzling into Keith’s cheek. 

“Absolutely not. It’s bullshit.” 

“You’re gonna get it, Mullet.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> such drama i love lance pls protect him and his self worth   
> also sorry i didnt feel like this chapter should have any smut Lance is tryna work some stuff out lol 
> 
> also sorry if my update was slow as fuck i got a nintendo switch and have been playing it nonstop


End file.
